IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


// 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


US 


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2.2 


lit 


140 


ImI 


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1.4   11.6 


PhotogKphic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WeST  MAIN  STRUT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MSM 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 
Microfiche 


n  I  ^0  «9  • 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


<\ 


Tachnical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibliographiquaa 


Tha  Instituta  has  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturas  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction.  or  which  may  significantly  changa 
tha  usual  mathod  of  filming,  ara  chackad  balow. 


□   Colourad  covars/ 
Couvartura  da  coulaur 


I      I   Covars  damagad/ 


D 


D 


D 
D 
D 


D 


D 


Couvartura  andommagte 


Covars  rastorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastaurAa  at/ou  palllculAa 


nn   Covar  titia  missing/ 


La  titra  da  couvartura  manqua 

Colourad  maps/ 

Cartas  gAographiquas  an  couiaur 


□   Colourad  ink  (i.a.  othar  than  blua  or  black)/ 
Encra  da  coulaur  (i.a.  autra  qua  blaua  ou  noira) 


Colourad  platas  and/or  illustrations/ 
Planchas  at/ou  illustrations  an  coulaur 


Bound  with  othar  matariai/ 
RaliA  avac  d'autras  documants 

Tight  binding  may  causa  shadows  or  distortion   . 
along  intarior  margin/ 

La  re  liura  sarr6a  paut  causar  da  I'ombra  ou  da  la 
distortion  la  long  da  la  marga  intAriaura 

Blank  laavas  addad  during  rastoration  may 
appaar  within  tha  taxt.  Whanavar  possibla.  thasa 
hava  baan  omittad  from  filming/ 
II  sa  paut  qua  cartainas  pagas  blanchas  ajoutias 
lors  d'una  rastauration  apparaissant  dans  la  taxta, 
mais,  lorsqua  cala  6tait  possibla,  cas  pagas  n'ont 
pas  Att  filmtes. 

Additional  commants:/ 
Commantairas  suppl6mantairas: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  la  maillaur  axamplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  Ati  possibla  da  sa  procurar.  Las  details 
da  cat  axamplaira  qui  sont  paut-Atra  uniquas  du 
point  da  vua  bibliographiqua.  qui  pauvant  modifier 
una  imaga  raproduita.  ou  qui  pauvant  axigar  una 
modification  dans  la  m*thoda  normala  da  f ilmage 
sont  indiquAs  «i-dassous. 


r~|   Colourad  pagas/ 


Pagas  da  coulaur 

Pagas  damagad/ 
Pagas  andommagias 

Pagas  rastorad  and/oi 

Pagas  rastaurAas  at/ou  palliculAas 

Pagas  discolourad,  stainad  or  foxai 
Pagas  dicolortes,  tachaties  ou  piquAes 

Pagas  datachad/ 
Pagas  ditachias 

Showthrough/ 
Transparanca 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  intgala  da  I'imprassion 

Includas  supplementary  materit 
Comprend  du  material  supplimentaira 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 


r~n  Pages  damaged/ 

I      I  Pagas  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~lt  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

I     I  Pagas  detached/ 

r~^  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

r~n  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

I     I  Only  edition  available/ 


Th« 
tol 


poi 
ofi 
filn 


Orii 
bo| 
tha 
sioi 
oth 
firs 
sioi 
ori 


The 
sha 
TIN 
whi 

Mai 
diff 
anti 
bag 
rig^ 
raqi 
mat 


D 


Pagas  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pagas  totalament  ou  partieilemant 
obscurcias  par  un  fauillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  it*  filmies  i  nouveau  de  faqon  d 
obtanir  la  mailleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film*  au  taux  de  rMuction  indiqut  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

J 

12X 

16X 

20X 

MX 

28X 

32X 

The  copy  film«id  h«r«  has  bMn  raproduead  thanka 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

Library  of  tha  Public 
Archivat  of  Canada 


L'axamplaira  fiimi  fut  raproduit  grica  h  la 
g4n4roaiti  da: 

La  bibliothAqua  das  Archives 
publiquas  du  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  beat  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  speoificationa. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  oovera  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  e  printed  or  llluatratad  imprea- 
sion,  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copiea  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  llluatratad  imprea- 
sion,  and  ending  on  the  laat  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impreaaion. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  tha  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  tha  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Thoae  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaura  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  framea  aa 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Lea  images  suhrantes  ont  At4  reproduites  avac  la 
plua  grand  soin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nettetA  de  I'exempielre  f limA,  et  en 
conformity  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Lea  axempiairea  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  eat  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commen9ant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmAs  en  commenpant  par  la 
pramlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  darnlAre  pege  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la 
darnlAre  imege  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  6  des  taux  de  reduction  diff Arents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA,  11  est  film*  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  Ims,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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HISTORY 


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OREGON  AND  CALIFORNIA 


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-...„.  ^...<L.L.. 


THE 


HISTORY 


OREGON  MD  CALIFORNIA, 

AND   THE 

OTHER   TERRITORIES 

ON    TBI 

NORTH-WEST  COAST  OF  NORTH  AMERICA; 

FROM  THEIR   DISCOVERY  TO  THE  PRESENT  DAY. 

AOOOUrANIKD  BT  A 

GEOGRAPHICAL    VIEW 

OP  THOSE  COUNTRIES, 

AND   A    NUMBER    OF    DOCUMENTS   AS 

PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  HISTORY. 


BY 


ROBERT  GREENHOW, 


ilOTROK  or  A  MEMOIK,  HIiTOBICAL  AND   POLITICAL,  OR  TRB   NORTH-WHT  COAIT  OP  MOBTH  AMBBIRA, 
PCBUIHBO  IN  1840,  BT  DIBECTIOIt  OF  THE  lERATB  OF  THE   UltlTBD  iTATEI. 


«  THE  POSSIBLE  DESTINY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  AS  A  NATION 
OF  A  HUNDRED  MILLIONS  OF  FREEMEN,  STRETCHING  FROM  THE  ATLANTIC  TO 
TRB  PACIFIC,  LIVING  UNDER  THE  LAWS  OF  ALFRED,  AND  SPEAKING  THE 
LANGUAGE  OF  SHAKSPEARE    AND  MILTON,  IS. AN    AUGUST   CONCEPTION." 

COLSRIDQE'S  TABLE  TALK. 


FOURTH     EDITION, 

REVISED,    CORRECTEn,   AND    ENLARGED. 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  AUTHOR,  BY  FREEMAN  AND  BOLLES. 

1847. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 

By  RoBBRT  Oribnhow, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Columbia. 


BOSTON : 

PRINTED  BY  FEKEMAN  AND  BOLLES, 

DKV0N8HIRI!  STRBET. 


TO 


MAJOR-GENERAL   MORGAN   LEWIS, 

LATB  aOVXBMOR  OP  THE  •TATB  OP  NEW  TOIK; 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  INSCRIBED, 

AS  A  MAKK  OP  SESP£CT  AND   QRATEPUL  RKHEMBRANOE. 

ROBERT  GREENHOW. 


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PBEFACE. 


The  following  pages  are  devoted,  principally,  to  the 
description  and  history  of  the  portion  of  North  America 
bordering  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  between  the  40th  and  the 
54th  parallels  of  latitude,  which  is  traversed  and  in  a  great 
measure  drained,  by  the  River  Columbia,  and  to  which  the 
name  of  OREGON  is  now  usually  applied.  It  has,  how- 
ever, been  found  necessary,  for  the  objects  of  the  work,  to 
bestow  almost  equal  attention  on  the  regions  embraced 
under  the  general  appellation  of  California,  extending 
southward  from  the  Columbia  countries,  to  the  arm  of  the 
Pacific,  called  the  Californian  Gulf ;  and  also  to  take  into 
consideration  the  coasts  and  islands  north  and  north-west 
of  those  countries,  as  far  as  the  Arctic  Sea. 

The  vast  division  of  America,  comprehending  these  ter- 
ritories, remains,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  isolated  spots 
on  the  coasts  and  on  the  margins  of  the  larger  streams, 
uncultivated  and  inhabited  only  by  tribes  of  wandering  sav- 
ages. Its  shores  and  some  of  its  rivers  have  been  exam- 
ined with  care,  and  their  course  may  be  found  delineated 
with  considerable  minuteness  on  maps.  Of  its  interior  re- 
gions, some  have  never  been  explored,  and  are  indeed  ap- 
parently impenetrable  by  man  ;  others,  which  offer  fewer 
obstacles  to  the  traveller,  are  only  known  through  the 
vague  and  imperfect  accounts  of  traders  or  missionaries ; 
and  in  tho?e  which  have  been  the  most  frequented  by  ctr- 
ilized  persons,  much  remains  to  be  effected  by  the  aid  of 
scientific  observations,  in  order  to  obtain  satisfactory  ideas 
of  their  geography  and  physical  characteristics. 

These  territories,  unoccupied,  partially  explored,  and 


PREFACE. 


ronote  from  all  civilized  countries,  nevertheless  present 
much  that  is  interesting  in  their  political  history^  as  well 
as  in  their  natural  conformation  and  productions ;  and 
events  are  now  in  progress  which  seem  calculated,  ere  long, 
to  attract  towards  them  the  views  of  the  governments  and 
people  of  many  powerful  nations. 

Every  part  of  this  division  of  America  is  in  fact  claimed 
by  some  civilized  state  as  its  exclusive  property,  in  virtue 
either  of  discoveries  or  settlements  made  by  its  citizens  or 
subjects,  or  of  transfer  or  inheritance  from  some  other 
state  claiming  on  similar  grounds,  or  of  contiguity  to  its 
own  acknowledged  territories.  On  these  points,  the  prin- 
ciples of  national  law  are  by  no  means  clearly  defined ; 
nor  is  it  easy  to  apply  such  as  are  most  generally  admit- 
ted, to  particular  cases ;  nor  are  governments  ordinarily 
found  ready  to  relinquish  claims  merely  because  they  prove 
to  be  unfounded,  agreeably  to  such  principles :  and  dis- 
putes have  in  consequence  arisen  between  different  nations 
asserting  the  right  of  possession  to  the  same  portion  of 
Western  America,  which  have  more  than  once  threatened 
to  disturb  the  peace  of  the  world.  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  settle  the  questions  at  issue  by  negotiation  ;  and 
certain  lines  of  boundary  have  been  agreed  on  by  treaties 
between  one  and  another  of  the  claimant  powers  :  but  the 
arrangements  thus  made,  can  scarcely  in  any  instance  be 
considered  definitive,  as  they  have  not  received,  and  will 
probably  never  receive,  the  assent  of  the  other  parties  in- 
terested. ,  A   ^  J    ,,,    .   > 

In  the  mean  time  these  territories  are  daily  becoming 
more  important  from  the  advancement  of  the  population  of 
adjoining  countries  towards  them,  and  from  the  constant 
increase  of  the  trade  and  navigation  of  several  of  the  claim- 
ant powers  in  the  Pacific,  which  would  render  the  undis- 
puted possession  of  establishments  on  the  coasts  of  that 
Ocean  most  desirable  for  each.  The  difficulty  of  effecting 
an  amicable  partition  of  the  territories  thus  becomes  daily 


icting 
daily 


PREFACE.  ▼ 

greater,  and  more  urgent  therefore  is  the  necessityilf  en- 
deavoring to  attain  that  end  without  delay. 

It  was  principally  with  the  object  of  showing  the  nature, 
origin  and  extent  of  these  various  claims,  that  the  author 
of  the  following  pages  composed  his  *'  Memoir,  Historical 
and  Political,  nn  the  North-West  Coasts  of  North  America 
and  the  adjacent  Territories,"*  which  was  published  by 
order  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  1840.  He 
there  endeavored  to  present  a  complete,  clear,  and  impar- 
tial view  of  all  the  discoveries  and  settlements,  made  or 
attempted,  in  those  countries  by  civilized  nations,  and  of 
all  the  disputes,  'negotiations  and  conventions,  between 
different  governments  with  respect  to  them,  from  the  pe- 
riod when  they  were  first  visited  by  Europeans  ;  founding 
his  statements  as  much  as  possible,  upon  original  authori- 
ties. That  memoir  is  the  only  work  hitherto  published, 
approaching  in  its  character  to  a  history  of  the  western 
portion  of  North  America.  The  History  of  California,! 
printed  at  Madrid,  in  1758,  is  devoted  almost  exclusively 
to  descriptions  of  the  Californian  Peninsula,  and  to  accounts 
of  the  missionary  labors  of  the  Jesuits,  in  that  desolate  re- 
gion. The  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Marchand's 
Voyage,!  which  appeared  in  1799,  and  the  Introduction  to 
the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes,§  published  in  1802, 
are  confined  to  the  discoveries  of  European  navigators  on 
the  North  Pacific  coasts  of  America,  before  1793  ;  upon 
which  so  many  details  have  been  made  known,  since  the 
appearance  of  those  works,  that  they  are  now  entirely  ob- 
solete, and  scarcely  one  of  their  paragraphs  can  be  cited 
as  correct.     The  Journals  of  Cook,  La  P^rouse,  Vancou- 


*  Extract  from  the  Journal  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.—  "  Monday,  Feb. 
10,  i840.  On  motion,  by  Mr.  Linn  —  Ordered,  That  a  History  of  the  North- West 
Coast  of  North  America  and  the  adjacent  Territories,  communicated  to  the  Select 
Committee  on  the  Oregon  Territory,  be  printed,  with  the  accompanying  map:  and 
two  thousand  five  hundred  copies,  in  addition  to  the  usual  number,  be  printed  for 
the  use  of  the  Senate." 


t  See  page  105. 


t  See  page  223- 


§  See  page  241. 


B 


*3r 


TI 


PREFACE. 


ver,  Mackenzie,  Krusenstern,  Lewis  and  Clark,  Kotzebue, 
Beechey,  and  Belcher,  all  contain  important  information 
as  to  the  geography  of  the  countries  under  consideration  ; 
but  as  regards  the  events,  which  lie  within  the  province 
of  the  historian,  we  have  only  the  accounts  cf  the  Astoria 
enterprise,  by  Franch^re,  Cox,  and  Irving,  all  interesting, 
yet  all  limited  to  the  occurrences  of  three  or  four  years. 
In  the  most  popular  histories  of  other  countries,  and  espe-* 
cially  of  Great  Britain,  the  circumstances  relating  to  North- 
West  America,  are,  in  every  material  point,  misrepresent- 
ed, either  from  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  authors,  or  from 
motives  less  excusable  ;  and  these  histories,  being  univer- 
sally read  and  received  as  true  in  England  and  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  it  is  not  astonishing,  that  erroneous  ideas 
should  be  generally  entertained  by  the  people  of  both  na- 
tions, upon  points,  which  have  been,  and  will  continue  to 
be,  the  subjects  of  discussion  between  their  governments. 
The  Memoir,  above  mentioned,  contains  the  outlines  of 
the  History  now  presented ;  for  which  the  same  authori- 
ties, with  many  others  since  collected,  consisting  of  pri- 
vate and  official  reports,  letters  and  accounts,  journals  of 
expeditions  by  sea  and  land,  and  histories  and  state  papers 
of  various  civilized  nations,  have  been  carefully  examined 
and  compared.  Many  errors  of  fact  as  well  as  of  reason- 
ing in  the  former  work,  have  by  this  means  been  correct- 
ed ;  and  new  circumstances  have  been  brought  to  light, 
and  new  arguments  have  been  founded  upon  them,  calcu- 
lated perhaps  materially  to  modify  the  views  of  those  to 
whom  the  settlement  of  questions  relative  to  North- West 
America  may  be  hereafter  entrusted.  The  principal  ob- 
ject of  the  author  has  been  to  present  the  facts  relative  to 
the  discovery  and  settlement  of  those  countries,  fairly ;  and 
to  investigate  the  claims  which  have  been  deduced  from 
them,  agreeably  to  the  immutable  principles  of  right,  and 
the  general  understanding  of  civilized  nations :  and  al- 
though he  fully  appreciates,  and  endeavors  in  all  cases  to 


w 


PREFACE. 


fU 


place  in  their  proper  light,  the  merits  of  his  own  couBtryr 
men,  and  the  pretensions  of  his  own  government,  he  is  not 
conscious  that  his  desire  to  do  so,  has  in  any  case  led  him 
to  the  commission  of  injustice  towards  other  individuals,  or 
nations,  either  by  misstatements,  or  by  suppressions  of 
the  truth.  In  order  to  unite  the  various  parts  into  a  regu- 
lar narrative,  and  to  preserve  the  remembrances  of  events 
which  may  be  interesting,  if  not  important  at  future  peri- 
ods, he  has  introduced  circumstances  not  immediately 
tending  to  the  attainment  of  the  principal  objects  propos- 
ed ;  but  he  has  omitted  nothing  voluntarily,  which  if 
made  known  might  have  led  to  conclusions  different  from 
those  here  presented.  Dates  and  references  to  authorities 
are  generally  given,  and  always  in  cases  where  the  cir- 
cumstances related  are  new  or  material,  or  in  which  his 
accounts  differ  from  those  usually  received ;  and  he  has 
appended  a  number  of  documents,  extracts  and  original 
notices  as  Proofs  and  Illustrations  of  the  history.  Among 
the  latter,  are  some  valuable  papers  never  before  publish- 
ed, others  not  commonly  known,  and  others  again  which 
the  reader  will  probably  desire  frequently  to  consult,  in- 
cluding all  the  treaties  and  conventions  hitherto  concluded 
between  civilized  nations,  with  respect  to  the  countries 
forming  the  subjects  of  the  history. 

In  the  geographical  view  he  has  collected,  compared, 
and  endeavored  to  arrange  in  order,  what  appeared  to  be 
the  most  exact  and  striking  details,  presented  by  the  nu- 
merous travellers  who  have  visited  the  countries  in  ques- 
tion. The  map  has  been  composed,  as  far  as  possible, 
from  original  authorities  ;  being  intended  for  the  illustra- 
tion of  the  history,  it  necessarily  embraces  a  very  large 
portion  of  the  surface  of  the  globe,  and  will  be  found,  per- 
haps, on  the  whole,  more  nearly  correct  than  any  other 
yet  offered  to  the  public. 

Washington,  February,    1844.  *^ 


to 


(V'1 


#  'km 


■\\ 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FOURTH  EDITION. 


Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  this  History, 
one  of  the  countries,  to  which  it  relates,  has  been  the 
subject  of  a  most  serious  discussion  between  the  two  great 
nations  claiming  the  sovereignty  over  it ;  and  the  peace 
of  the  civilized  world  seemed,  for  a  time,  to  depend  upon 
the  determination  of  the  question,  —  whether  the  territory 
drained  by  the  Columbia  River  should  belong,  definitively, 
to  the  United  States  or  to  Great  Britain  ?  This  question 
has  been  settled,  amicably,  and  honorably  to  both  the  par- 
ties, by  the  Treaty  of  June  15, 1846,  and  Oregon  has  ceased 
to  be  the  topic  of  the  day.  The  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Mexico,  however,  at  the  same  time,  brought 
California  before  the  public  ;  but  less  interest  was  felt  on  the 
subject,  as  no  one  appeared  to  doubt  that  the  latter  country 
would  also  be  speedily  annexed  to  the  Great  American  Re- 
public. ^ 

By  the  events  which  have  been  thus  consummated,  or 
are  now  in  progress,  the  foundation  has  been  laid  for  a 
new  power  on  the  shores  of  the  North  Pacific.  Thousands 
of  American  citizens  are  already  established  there,  and 
as  many  more  are  now  on  their  way  thither,  by  land  and 
by  sea,  carrying  with  them  the  feelings,  the  institutions, 
and  the  arts  of  their  native  land  ;  and  cities  will  soon  rise 
in  Oregon  and  California,  and  vessels  will  he  sent  forth 
from  their  ports,  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  to  vie 
with  those  of  other  civilized  lands,  in  the  trade  and  fish- 
ery of  the  Western  Ocean.     The  History  of  North-West 


PREFACE    TO    THE    FOURTH     EDITION. 


America  will  not  lose  its  interest,  in  consequence  of  these 
changes,  but  will  be  studied  with  greater  care  by  the 
political  philosopher,  the  merchant,  the  agriculturist,  and 
the  man  of  the  world  ;  and  the  rising  population  of  those 
countries  will  treasure  up  the  annals  of  their  discovery 
and  settlement,  and  many  a  barren  waste,  and  naked 
promontory  or  islet,  will  be  endowed  with  a  romantic 
value,  as  the  scenes  of  adventures  of  the  early  explorers 
and  colonists. 

The  author  of  the  present  work  has  reason  to  congratu- 
late himself,  that  he  devoted  his  leisure  hours  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  the  history  of  Oregon  and  California,  before 
the  occurrence  of  the  discussion  with  regard  to  the  former 
country  ;  of  which  he  has  thus  been  able  to  contribute,  in 
some  measure,  to  the  favorable  conclusion,  by  removing  a 
mass  of  embarrassing  errors,  and  placing  the  most  material 
points,  for  the  first  time,  in  a  clear  and  distinct  light. 
That  attempts  would  be  made,  as  they  have  been,  and  will 
continue  to  be,  to  deprive  him  of  his  share  of  merit,  in 
the  production  of  these  important  results,  he  fully  antici- 
pated from  the  commencement  of  his  labors,  and  he  has, 
therefore,  suffered  no  disappointment ;  on  the  contrary, 
his  work  has  met  with  a  success,  both  in  America  and  in 
Europe,  far  exceeding  his  most  sanguine  anticipations, 
and  well  calculated  to  assure  him,  that  it  will  survive  the 
memory  of  those,  who  have  endeavored  to  destroy  it,  by 
falsehood  or  by  affected  contempt. 

In  the  present  edition,  the  author  has  availed  himself  of 
all  the  information  which  he  has  been  able  to  obtain,  since 
the  publication  of  the  last  preceding  ;  and  he  has  parti- 
cularly studied  the  numerous  reviews  of  his  work,  and 
answers  to  it,  which  have  appeared  in  Europe,  without 
allowing  himself  to  be  affected  by  the  hostile  tone  in  gen- 
eral pervading  them.  The  objections  urged  by  those 
writers,  have  been  all  carefully  examined  ;  and,  where 
they  have  been  considered  either  well-founded,  or  worthy 
of  refutation  from  their  speciousness,  corresponding  altera- 


PREFACE    TO    THE    FOURTH    EDITION. 


xi 


era- 


tions  have  been  made  in  the  text.  Among  the  portioirs 
which  have  thus  been  in  a  manner  renewed,  are  those 
relating  to  Drake's  voyage,  (page  70)  —  to  the  boundaries 
of  Louisiana,  Canada,  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's 
territories,  (pages  100  and  277)  —  especially  to  the  sup- 
posed adoption  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  latit^jde^  as 
the  separation  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  countries  and 
the  French  possessions,  agreeably  to  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht, 
on  which,  it  is  believed,  all  doubts  will  be  now  set  at 
rest,  (pages  280  and  436)  —  to  the  meaning  and  duration 
of  the  Nootka  Convention,  of  1790,  between  Great  Bri- 
tain and  Spain,  (pages  256  and  318),  in  which  is  pre-^ 
sented  (page  259,)  an  analysis  of  the  law  of  nations,  as  to 
the  effects  of  war  and  peace  upon  treaties.  On  these,  and 
other  points,  more  or  less  important,  much  care  has  been 
bestowed,  and  the  views  and  statements  of  the  author  have 
been  modified,  as  circumstances  seemed  to  require  ;  while 
many  new  facts  and  arguments  have  been  introduced, 
tending  to  make  the  whole  more  complete.  The  account 
of  the  recent  discussions  and  treaty,  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  on  the  subject  of  Oregon,  ter- 
minating this  history,  is  confined  entirely  to  essential  cir- 
cumstances, which  are  related  as  concisely  and  accurately 
as  possible,  and  with  very  few  remarks  of  any  kind  ;  the 
Treaty  will  be  found  at  length,  on  page  482. 

The  author  must  be  permitted,  in  conclusion,  to  protest 
against  the  assertion  which  has  been  made,  that  his  work 
is  merely  an  argument,  or  brief,  in  favor  of  the  claims  of 
the  United  States  to  the  possession  of  Oregon.  It  was 
intended  to  be,  and  is,  neither  more  nor  less  than  its  name 
imports,  a  History  of  Oregon  and  California,  and  the  adja- 
cent territories  on  the  North-West  Coast  of  North  Amer- 
ica ;  and  not  one  line  in  it,  or  in  the  Memoir  on  the 
North-West  Coast,  which  preceded  it,  has  been  written 
under  the  dictation,  or  even  with  the  advice,  of  any  member 
of  the  American  Government.  Had  the  author  been  thus 
influenced,  contrary  to  his  own  convictions,  the   whole 


Zll 


PREFACE    TO    THE    FOURTH    EDITION. 


work  would  have  been  different ;  and  he  would  scarcely 
have  ventured  to  oppose,  as  he  has  in  so  many,  and  indeed 
in  nearly  all  cases,  the  views  long  established  in  the 
United  States,  and  uniformly  maintained  by  their  Govern- 
ment, in  its  previous  discussions  and  declarations,  at  the 
risk  of  the  abuse  and  injury  to  which  he  has,  as  he  an- 
ticipated, been  exposed.  His  maxim  has  been,  to  present 
what  he  believed  to  be  true  and  right,  in  the  narration  of 
events,  and  in  reasoning  upon  them  ;  and  while  endeavor- 
ing to  guard  and  advance  the  interests  of  his  country,  he 
is  not  conscious  that  he  has,  in  any  case,  been  the  advo- 
cate of  a  course,  by  which  those  interests  were  to  be  pre- 
served or  benefited,  at  the  expense  of  its  honor  or  of 
justice. 

The  author  will  moreover  take  this  occasion  to  say,  that 
he  expects  ere  long  to  offer  to  the  public,  another  work 
on  the  same  plan,  and  on  a  kindred  subject,  namely :  "A 
History  of  Florida,  Louisiana  and  Texas,  and  the  adjacent 
countries,  including  the  whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
from  their  discovery  to  their  incorporation  with  the  United 
States,"  which  has  for  some  time  past  occupied  his  leisure 
hours,  and  on  which  he  has  collected  a  vast  mass  of  new 
and  interesting  facts,  calculated  materially  to  change  the 
existing  opinions  on  many  important  points,  relative  to 
that  portion  of  America. 

J   Washington,  January,  1847. 


,i.  iX     I  jt  '  " 


r^m 


it 


TABLE    OF   CONTENTS. 


QEOGRAPHY   OF   THE  WESTERN   SECTION   OP   NORTH 

AMERICA. 

GENERAL    VIEW. 

Great  Natural  Divisiona  of  N.  America.  3 — Coasts  on  the  Pacific  and  the  Arctic  Seat, 
4— Mountain  Chains  of  the  Paciiio  bection— Far- West  Mountain!,  0^  Rocky  Moun- 
tains —  Blue  Mountains,  6  —  Climate  of  the  Pacific  Section  —  Lakea^  7  —  Riven,  8  — 
Central  Regions  of  N.  Ajnerica — Animals  and  Vejzetables  of  the  Pacific  Section— Ni> 
tives,  9 — Establishments  of  civilized  Nations,  10 — Political  Limits,  11. 


CALIFORNIA. 

Extent  and  Divisions— Gulf  of  California,  12 — Pearl  Fishery  —  Sonora  and  Sinaloa^  13— 
Peninsula  of  California— Its  Climate,  Soil,  Productions,  and  Animals,  14— Aborigines- 
Ports  and  Mexican  Settlements,  15  —  Continental  or  New  California— Its  Extent,  Soil, 
Climate,  16  —  Ports  and  Mexican  Settlements — San  Diego,  Santa  Barbara- Monterey, 
17  —  San  Francisco  —  River  Sacramento,  18  —  Bodega  —  Cape  Mendocino,  19— 'Interior 
Regions  —  River  Colorado  —  Utah  Lake,  20. 


OREGON.  ?5 

Natural  and  assumed  Boundaries,  21 — Strait  of  Fnca,  22  — Columbia  River  ^  North 
Itranch,  23 .—  South  Branch  —  Main  Trunk,  24  —  Far- West  Mountains,  25  — Westernmost 
Region  of  Oregon,  26  —  Blue  Mountains  —  Middle  Region  —  Easternmost  or  Rocky 
Mountain  Region,  27— New  Caledonia,  28— North- West  Archipelago,  S9— Aborigines. 
30 — .Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Establishments,  31  —  American  Settlements,  33. 


RUSSIAN    AMERICA. 


Extent  and  Limits— Russian  American  Company.  36  —  District  of  Sitka— Sitka  or  New 
Archangel  — District  of  Kodiak,  37  — Cook's  Inlet  — Prince  William's  Sound— Mount 
St.  Elias-Aliaska- Aleutian  Islands  —  Michaelof  District,  38  —  Komtchatka  —  Kurile 
Islands,  39. 


Sandwich  Islands,  39  — Marquesas  Islands— Society  Islands,  40— Projects  for    Canala 
uniting  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  41. 


UT 


OOMTKMTS. 


HISTORY  OF  OREGON  AND  CALIFORNIA,  ETC. 


CHAPTER   I. 

To  1543. 

PKliminuy  ObMnrationn,  43  —  Effort*  of  the  Spaniard*  to  dUcorer  Weitem  Paaaage*  to 
India— Sttcceinive  Discoveries  of  the  West  indies,  the  North  American  Continent,  the 
Eutem  Passage  to  India,  Brazil,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  44— Search  Tor  a  naTigable  Paa- 
Mge  connecting  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans  —  Supposed  Discoveiy  of  such  a  Pas- 
sage, called  the  Sfrott  of  ^nton,  4A  —  Discovery  of  Magellan's  Strait  and  the  Western 
Passage  to  India,  46  —  Conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cort^,  who  endeavors  to  discover  new 
Countries  farther  north-west,  4fi  —  Voyages  of  Maldonado,  Hurtado  de  Mendoia,  Grijalva, 
and  Becerra,  62— Discoveiv  of  California  — Expedition  of  Cort^  to  California,  63  — Pre- 
tended Discoveries  of  Friar  Marcos  de  Niza,  57 — Voyages  of  Ulloa,  Alarcon,  and  Cabrillo, 
08  — Expeditions  of  Coronodo  and  Soto,  69  —  The  Spaniards  desist  ih>in  their  Cfforta  to 
eiplore  the  North-Weat  Coast*  of  America,  63. 


CHAPTER    II. 
1643  TO  1608. 

The  Spaniards  conquer  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  establish  a  direct  Trade  across  the  Pacific, 
between  Asia  and  America,  64  —  Measures  of  the  Spanish  Government  to  prevent  other 
European  Nations  from  settling  or  trading  in  America,  66  —  These  Measnres  resisted  by 
the  English,  the  French,  and  the  Dutch  —  Free  Traders  and  Freebooter*  infest  the  West 
Indies,  68  — First  Voyages  of  the  Enclish  in  the  Pacific,  70  —  Voyages  of  Drake  and  Cav- 
endish, 71  —  Endeavors  of  the  Engliui  to  discover  a  North-West  Passage  fh>m  the  Atlan- 
tic to  the  Pacific,  76  —  False  Reports  of  the  Discovery  of  such  Passases,  78  —  Supposed 
Voyages  of  Urdaneta,  Maldonado,  and  Font^,  77  — Voyage  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  84  —  Expedi- 

^  tions  of  Sebaatian  Vizcaino,  88— Supposed  Di*covery  of  a  great  River  in  North  We*t 
Aroeiica,  91. 


C H  A  P T E R    II I . 

1608  TO  1768. 

The  North-Weit  Coasts  of  North  America  remain  nearly  neglected  during  the  whole  of  this 
Period,  93  —  EfforU  of  the  English  and  the  Dutch  to  find  new  Passages  rato  the  Pacific  — 
Discovery  of  Hudson's  Bay.  Baffin's  Bay,  and  the  Passace  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
94— Establishment  of  British  and  French  Colonies  in  America — Charter  of  the  Hudson'* 
Bay  Company  —  Endeavors  of  the  Spaniards  to  settle  California  unsuccessful,  95^  The 
JesaiU  undertake  the  Reduction  of  California,  96  — Their  Success,  97  — American  Treaty 
between  Great  Britain  and  Spain;  confirmed  by  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  99— Discovery  and 
Settlement  of  Louisiana  by  the  French,  100— Limits  of  Louisiana,  101  >— Expulsion  of 
the  JesuiU  from  the  Spanish  Dominions,  106. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


1769  TO  1779. 

First  EsUblishments  on  the  West  Coast  of  California  founded  by  the  Spaniard*,  108  — Di*- 
pnte  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain  respecting  the  Falkland  Islands,  111  —  Exploring 
Voyage*  of  the  Spaniards  under  Perez,  1 14—  Heceta  and  Bodega,  117,  and  Arteaga  and  Bo- 
dega, 128— Discovery  of  Nootka  Sound,  Norfolk  Sound,  and  9ie  Mouth  of  the  Colnmbit 
River.  120— importance  of  these  Discoveries,  124. 


OONTBNTS. 


If 


CHAPTER    V. 


1711  TO  1779. 


DiMoreiiM  of  the  RuMiani  fVom  Kamtchatka  —  Voyngei  of  Bering  and  Tehirikof  to  tha 
Arctic  Sea  and  to  the  American  Continent,  129 —  Establishmenti  oC  the  RuMian  Fur  Tn- 
dera  in  the  Aleutian  lalandi,  135  —  Vovasei  of  Synd,  Krenitzin,  and  Levathe^  137 — Kirat 
Voyage  fVom  Kamtchatlca  to  Cliinn,  made  by  Poliin  Rxilei'  under  Benyowsliv,  138— General 
Inaccuracy  of  the  Ideas  of  the  Kussiana  reipecting  the  Geography  of  tna  northenunoit 
CouU  of  the  Pacific,  before  1779, 139. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


1763  TO  1780. 


Miion  of  Canada,  140 — Journey  of  Carver  to  the  Upper  Miaaia* 
1  of  the  Oregon  River,  142  —  Inaccuracy  of  Carver'a  btatementa. 
I  through  the  Resions  west  of  Hudson'a  Bay,  14A  —  Voyage  of 


Great  Britain  obtains  Possession  of  Canada, 
sippi,  141 —First  Mention  I 

144 — Journeys  of  Heame  throuph  tHe  Resions  west  of  Hudson's  Ba^, 
Captain  Cook  to  the  North  Pacific,  147 —  His  important  Discoveries  in  that  Quarter,  and 
Death,  157  —  Return  of  his  Ship*  to  Europe;  Occurrences  at  Canton  during  their  Stay  in 
that  Port,  168. 


CHAPTER    VII. 


1780  TO  1789. 


Commercial  Results  of  Cook's  Discoveries,  160 — Settlements  of  the  Russians  in  America, 
161  —  Scheme  of  Ledyard  for  the  Trade  of  the  ^Nortli  Pacific,  162—  Voyage  of  La  Pirouae, 
163— Direct  Trade  between  the  American  Coasts  and  Canton  commence,  165— Voyagea 
of  the  English  Fur  Traders  —  Re-discovery  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  171  —  Voyage  of 
Meares,  who  endeavors  to  iind  a  great  River  described  by  the  Spaniards,  175— First 
Voyages  IVom  the  United  States  to  the  South  Parific,  and  to  Canton,  179  — Voyase  of  the 
Columbia  and  Washington,  under  Kendrick  and  Gray,  from  Beaton  to  the  mrth  Pa* 
cific,  180. 

CHAPTER    VIU. 

1788  AND  1789. 

Uneaainess  of  the  Spaniah  Government  at  the  Proceedings  of  the  Fur  Traders  in  the  North 
Pacific,  183— Voyages  of  Observation  by  Marline:;  and  Haro  to  the  Russian  American 
Settlements,  185  —  Remonstrances  of  the  Court  of  Madrid  to  that  of  St.  Petersburg, 
againat  the  alleged  Encroachments  of  the  latter  Power.  186  —  Martinez  and  Haro  sent  hj  the 
Viceroy  of  Mexico  to  take  Possession  of  Mootka  Sound,  187  —  Claims  of  Spain  ezammed, 
188  — Seizure  of  British  and  other  Vessels  at  Nootka  by  Martinez,  191 — Captain  Gray, 
in  the  Washington,  explores  the  East  (^oast  of  Queen  Charlotte'a  Island,  and  entera  the 
Strait  of  Fuca,  199 —  Kendrick,  in  the  Washinfrton,  passes  through  the  Strait  of  Fuca— 
Return  of  the  Columbia  to  the  United  States,  200. 


CHAPTER    iX, 


1790. 


Contrareny  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain  respecting  the  North-Weat  Coasta  of  America 
and  the  Navigation  of  the  Pacific,  202 — The  Owners  of  the  Vessels  seized  at  Nootka 
apply  for  Reareaa  to  the  British  Government,  which  demands  Satisfhction  for  the  ^eged 
Outrages,  203  —  Spain  resists  the  Demand,  and  calls  nn  France  for  Aid,  agreeably  to  the 


I?l 


CONTENTS. 


Family  Compact,  907  —  Proceedinija  in  the  Mntiunal  Aisembljr  of  Fnuiee  on  the  Subject, 
106  — Spain  engaffM  to  indemnify  the  Britiih  t'nr  the  Property  loiied,  SOS— Further  De- 
manda  of  Great  aritoin  —  Ueiigna  of  Pitt  aguinst  Spaniih  Ameriva,  i20(i  —  Secret  Mediation 
of  France,  through  which  the  Dispute  ii  lettlud,  "M)  —  Convention  of  October.  1790, 
called  the  Nootka  7V«a<y,  210— Proceeding!  in  Parliament,  and  Keflectiona  on  thli  Con* 
vention.211. 


CHAPTER    X. 


niH)  TO  1798. 


Vancouver  aent  by  the  British  Government  to  explore  the  Coaata  of  America,  and  receive 
Poaaesaion  of  Landa  and  Building*  agreeably  to  the  Convention  with  Spain,  216  —  Pof  sage 
of  the  Waahington,  under  Kendnclc,  through  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  in  1789,  218— Nootka  re- 
occupied  by  the  Spaniards,  220— Voyage*  of'-'"  "■" '■'''—   "■"'■ —  " — '— -• 

and  Malaspina.  221  —  Voyages  of  the  Aineri 
drick,  224— Discovery  of  the  Washington  '  ' 


of  Kidalao,  Qnimper,  Eiisa,  Billings,  Marchand, 
erican  tur  Traders,  Gra^,  Ingraham,  and  Ken- 
Islands  by  Ingraham,  22b. 


CHAPTER    XI. 


1792  TO  1796. 


Vancouver  and  Broughton  arrive  on  the  American  Coasts  in  1792,  and  meet  with  Gray,  who 
informs  them  of  his  Discovery  of  the  Cnluiiibia  River,  233  —  The  Strait  of  Fuca  surveyed 
by  Vancouver,  Galiano,  and  Valdes,  238  —  Megotiations  between  Vancouver  and  Quadra 
at  Nootka,  243  —  Vancouver's  Injuetice  to  the  Americans,  244,  248, 256  —  Broushton's  Ex- 
amination of  the  Lower  Port  of  tiie  Columbia  River,  247 —  Voncouver'a  Proceedinss  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  249  —  He  completes  the  Survey  of  the  North- West  Coaata  of  America, 
and  letume  to  England,  2S5  —  The  Spaniards  abandon  INootka,  257 — Conclusions  with 
Regaid  to  the  Diapute  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  and  the  Convention  of  1790, 258. 


CHAPTER    XII 

I7S8  TO  1810. 


Eatablishment  of  tlie  North-West  Fur  Trading  Comnanjr  of  Montreal,  in  1784, 261  —  Eipedi- 
tiona  of  Mackenzie  to  the  Arctic  Sea  and  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  263— The  Trade  between 
the  North  Pacific  Coasts  of  America  and  Canton  conducted  almost  exclusively  by  Vessels 
of  the  United  States  from  1796  to  lul4,  266 — Establishment  of  the  Russian  American 
Company,  269  — Ita  Settlements  and  Factories  on  the  American  Coasts,  270  —  Expedition 
of  Kruaenatem  through  the  North  Pacific,  272 — Proposition  of  the  Russian  Government 
to  that  of  the  United  States,  with  Regard  to  the  Trade  of  the  North  Pacific,  275. 


>vj, 


■•'  4 


CHAPTER    X  II  1 


1803  TO  1806. 


Cesaion  of  Louisiana  by  France  to  the  United  States,  276  —  Inquiries  as  to  the  true  Extent 
of  Louuiana,  277  —  Erroneous  Supposition  that  its  Limits  towards  the  North  had  been 
J,  fixed  by  Commioaaries  agreeably  to  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  281  —  President  Jefferson  aenda 
^  Lewia  and  Clarke  to  examine  the  Missouri  and  Columbia,  28-1- Account  of  their  Expedi- 
1^  tion  fh>m  the  Miasiaaippi  to  the  Pacific,  285. 


!«**«•  .>n 


f 


OOMTENTS. 


ivii 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

1806  TO  1815. 

Fint  EstaUUhuMnU  of  the  North- Weit  Company  in  the  Countries  north  of  the  Columbia, 
£K)— Facilic  Fur  Company  formed  at  New  Vorit,  'iifi — Plan  of  ita  Founder,  SUS— Fir«t 
£ipedition  from  New  York  in  the  Tonquin,  %)6 — Foundation  or  Aitoria  near  the  Mouth 
of  the  Columbia  River,  296  — March  ol'  tlie  Party  under  Hunt  and  Crooka  acroas  the 
Continent,  !2S>8— Arrival  of  the  Beaver  in  the  Columbia,  2i)9—Dottniction  of  the  Ton- 

tnin  by  the  Savagea,  900— War  between  the  United  Statea  and  Great  Britain  fatal  to  the 
Interpriae,  301  —  Eatablishmenta  of  tlic  Pacitic  Company  sold  to  the  North-Weat  Com- 
pany, 303— Aatoria  taken  by  the  British,  3U4 — Diiaolution  of  the  Pacific  Company,  30&. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


1814  TO  182U. 


Reatitution  of  Aatoria  to  the  United  States  by  Great  Britain,  agreeabt)[  to  the  Treaty  of 
Ghent,  309— Alleged  Reservation  of  Rights  on  the  Part  of  Great  Britain,  310- Firat  Ne- 
gotiation between  the  Governments  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  respecting  the 
Territoriea  west  of  the  Rockv  Mountains,  and  Convention  for  the  joint  Occupancy  of 
those  Territories,  314 —  Florida  Treaty  between  Spain  and  ttie  United  States,  Dv  which 
the  Latter  acquires  the  Title  of  Spain  to  the  North- West  Coasts,  .'ild— Colonel  Lonu's 
exploring  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  S'Xi — Disputes  between  the  British  Nortn- 

*>  West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies,  324 — Union  of  those  Bodies  —  Act  of  Parliament 
extending  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Canada  Courta  to  the  Pacific  Countries,  325^RuBsiaa 
Eatablishmenta  on  the  North  Pacific,  327  —  Expeditiona  in  Search  of  Northern  Puaagea 
between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  326  —  Death  of  Tamahamaha,  and  Introduction  of 
Christianity  into  the  Sandwich  lalands,  329. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

1820  TO  18!». 


~<i 


BUI  reported  by  m  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  fbr  the 

Occupation  of  the  Columbia  River,  331  —  Ukase  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  with  Regard  to 
«  the  North  Pacific  Coasts,  332  —  Negotiations  between  the  Governments  of  Great  Britain, 

Russia,  and  the  United  States,  335  —  Conventions  between  the  United  States  and  Russia. 

■nd  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia,  34!  —  Further  Negotiations  between  the  Uniteci 
^,  States  and  Great  Britain  relative  to  the  North- West  Coasts,  344 — Indefinite  Extension  of 
.'   the  Arrangement  for  the  joint  Occupancy  of  the  Territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 

taina,  by  the  Britiah  and  the  Americans,  3&k 


CHAPTER    XVU. 


1823  TO  1843. 


Few  Citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the  Countries  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountaina  between 
iai3  and  1B23,  356— Trading  Expeditions  of  Ashley,  Sublette,  Smith,  Pilcher,  Pattie, 

Tf  Bonneville,  and  Wreth,  357 — Missionaries  from  the  United  States  form  Establishments 
on  the  Columbia,  360  —  First  Printing  Press  set  up  in  Oregon,  361  —  Opposition  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  to  the  Americans;  how  exerted,  359 — Controversy  between  the 
United  States  and  Russia,  362 — Dispute  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  Russian 
American  Companies;  how  terminated,  363 — California,  365 — Capture  of  Monterey  by 
Commodore  Jones,  363— The  Sandwich  Islands,  369  —  Proceedings  of  the  Missionaries, 
370  —  Expulsion  of  the  Catholic  Priests,  and  their  Reinstatement  by  a  French  Force, 
372— The  Sandwich  Islands  temporarily  occupied  by  the  British,  374— Exploring  Expe- 
dition of  the  Americans  under  Wilkes,  375. 


ifUi 


ooNTiirrf. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 
1849  TO  1846. 


EMitMMBt  In  Dm  United  Statot  ratpaeling  Oregon,  378  —  Bill  in  Um  8«Bnto  (br  Um  lfliiii«> 
dinte  Ooeupntion  of  Oregon,  S79— That  BilF  ineoneiatent  with  th«  Convention  nf  IMT. 
between  the  United  Statea  and  Great  Britain,  38.1— Renewal  of  Negotiationa  between 
the  United  8tetaa  and  Ureat  Britain— Emiarationa  (Vom  the  United  Statee  to  Oregon, 
886— State  or  the  Hudaon'a  Bay  Company 'a  Poaaeaaiona,  388  —  Traa^  oonoliided,  4M. 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

A. 

Original  Aooount  of  the  Voyage  of  the  Greek  Pilot  Juan  de  Faea  along  the  Nortli>Weat 
Conate  of  America  in  IMS 40T 

B. 

Fte  and  the  Fur  Trade 411 

C. 

Coneepondenee  between  the  Spanish  Commandant  at  Nootka  Sound,  and  the  Maaten  of  the 
American  trading  Venela  Columbia  and  Hope,  respecting  the  Oceuneaoea  at  that  Place 
in  the  Summer  of  1789 419 

D. 

Original  Dooomenta  relative  to  tlie  Dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  ia  ITSa  .  418 

E. 

Original  Documente  relative  to  the  Discovery  of  the  Columbia  River,  by  the  Spaniaida  and 
toe  Americans 490 

P. 

Showing  that  the  Forty-ninth  Parallel  of  Latitude  was  not  selected  aa  the  Line  of  Separation 
between  the  French  and  the  British  Territories  in  North  America,  by  Commiaaioners  ap- 
pointed agreeably  to  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht       4^6 

o. 

Papwerelative  to  the  American  Establishment  ofAstoria,  on  the  Columbia  River.  .    .    499 

H. 

SUtementa  presented  on  each  side  in  the  course  of  the  Conftrencea,  held  at  London,  in  De- 
cember 1896,  between  Messrs.  Huskisaon  and  Addington,  the  British  Plenipotentiariea,  and 
Mr.  tiaUatin,  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States 446 

L 

Uoetunenta  relating  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 468 

K. 

IVeaties  and  Conventions  relative  to  the  North- West  Territories  of  North  America.    .    476 


.    499 


.    46A 

.    476 


; 


'VI 


GEOGRAPHY 


or  TBB 


WESTERN  SECTION  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


I 


8 


¥- 


^-■fe^- 


mif  : 


.!f.,'»  jr3i^;> 


GEOGRAPHY 


OF    THE 


WESTERN  SECTION  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


-Ml 


-■.s^ 


I V-  **.*''^ 


GENERAL   VIEW. 


,::,.*^  ,-. 


North  America  borders  upon  three  great  divisions  of  the  ocean :  the 
Atlantic  on  the  east  —  the  Arctic  on  the  north — and  the  Pacific  on  the 
south  and  west  —  each  of  which  receives,  either  directly  or  through  its 
gulfs  and  bays,  the  superfluous  waters  from  a  corresponding  great  section 
of  the  continent. 

These  three  great  sections  of  North  America  are  unequal  in  extent, 
and  different  in  the  character  of  their  surface.  At  least  one  half  of  the 
continent  is  drained  by  streams  entering  the  Atlantic ;  and  of  that  half, 
the  waters  from  the  larger,  as  well  as  the  more  fertile  portion,  are  carried 
by  the  Mississippi  into  the  Mexican  Gulf.  Of  the  other  two  sections,  that 
which  borders  on  the  Arctic  Sea  is  probably  the  more  extensive.  The 
Atlantic  and  the  Arctic  sections  present  each  a  large  proportion  of  sur- 
face, nearly  plane,  and  comparatively  little  elevated  above  the  sea;  and  the 
line  of  separation  between  them  is  so  indistinctly  marked  as  to  be,  in 
many  places,  imperceptible.  The  Pacific  section,  on  the  contrary,  is 
traversed  in  every  part  by  steep  and  lofly  ridges  of  highland ;  and  it  is 
completely  divided  from  the  other  portions  by  a  chain  of  mountains, 
extending,  in  continuation  of  the  Andes  of  South  America,  from  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama,  north-westward,  to  the  utmost  extremities  of  the  con- 
tinent in  that  direction. 

Of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  America  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  speak 
particularly.  The  irregularity  of  its  outline,  the  numerous  gulfs  and  bays 
enclosed  by  its  sinuosities,  the  great  rivers  flowing  through  it  into  the  sea, 
the  archipelagoes  in  its  vicinity,  and  all  its  other  characteristic  features, 
may  be  found  minutely  described  in  many  works.  The  only  parts  of  this 
coast,  to  which  reference  will  be  hereafter  made,  are  those  surrounding 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  Hudson's  Bay,  as  mdhy  of  the  most  important 
discoveries  on  the  western  side  of  the  continent  have  been  effected  in 
consequence  of  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  direct  navigable  communi- 
cation between  those  portions  of  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific. 

The  Pacific  coast  extends  from  Panama,  near  the  9th  degree  of  latitude,* 
westward  and  northward,  without  any  remarkable  break  in  its  outline,  to 

*  All  latitudes  mentioned  in  the  following  pages  are  north  latitudes,  nnless  other- 
wise specially  stated. 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  GEOGRAPHT. 


the  S3d  parallel,  under  which  the  Gulf  of  California,  separating  the  pen- 
insula  of  California  from  the  main  continent  on  the  east,  joins  the  ocean. 
From  the  southern  extremity  of  this  peninsula,  called  Cape  San  Lucas, 
situated  near  the  entrance  of  the  gulf,  the  American  coast  runs  north- 
westward to  the  foot  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  a  stupendous  volcanic  peak, 
rising  from  the  shore,  under  the  60th  parallel ;  beyond  which  the  con- 
tinent stretches  far  westward,  between  the  Pacific  on  the  south  and  the 
Arctic  Sea  on  the  north,  to  its  termination  at  Cape  Prince  of  Wales, 
near  the  64th  degree. 

Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  the  westernmost  point  of  America,  is  the  eastern 
pillar  of  Bering's  Strait,  a  passage  only  fifty  miles  in  width,  separating  that 
continent  from  Asia,  and  forming  the  only  direct  communication  between 
the  Pacific  and  the  Arctic  Oceans.  Beyond  it,  the  shores  of  Asia  and 
Europe  have  been  explored  in  their  whole  length  on  the  Arctic  Sea, 
though  no  vessel  has  hitherto  mnde  a  voyage  through  that  sea  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  or  vice  wrsa.  The  north  coast  of  America  has 
been  traced  from  Cape  Prince  of  Wales,  north-eastward,  to  Point  Barrow, 
near  the  71st  degree  of  latitude,  and  thence,  eastward,  more  than  fifteen 
hundred  miles,  though  not  continuously,  to  the  Atlantic.  The  portion 
north  of  Hudson's  Bay  is  still  imperfectly  discovered;  ntul  the  interesting 
question  whether  the  Arctic  Sea  there  mingles  its  waters  with  those  of  the 
Atlantic,  or  is  separated  from  them  by  the  extension  of  the  continent  to 
the  north  pole,  remains  undetermined.  Many  circumstances,  however, 
combine  to  favor  the  belief  that  a  communication  will  be  found  between 
the  two  oceans,  either  through  Fox's  Channel,  the  northernmost  part  of 
Hudson's  Bay,  or  through  Lancaster  Sound,  which  joins  Baffin's  Bay, 
under  the  74th  parallel ;  though  there  is  little  reason  to  expect  that  any 
facilities  for  commercial  intercourse  will  be  gained  by  the  discovery. 

The  Pacific  coast,  between  the  entrance  of  the  Californian  Gulf  and  the 
Strait  of  Fuca,  which  joins  the  ocean  under  the  49th  parallel,  presents 
few  remarkable  indentations,  and  the  islands  in  its  vicinity  are  neither 
numerous  nor  large.  North  of  the  49th  parallel,  on  the  contrary,  the 
mainland  is  every  where  penetrated  by  inlets  and  bays ;  and  many  pen- 
insulas protrude  from  it  into  the  sea.  In  its  vicinity,  moreover,  are 
thousands  of  islands,  some  of  them  very  large,  lying  singly  or  in  groups, 
separated  from  each  other,  and  from  the  continent,  by  narrow,  intricate 
channels.  The  most  extensive  of  these  collections  of  islands  is  the  North- 
West  Archipelago,  nearly  filling  a  great  recess  of  the  coast,  between  the 
48th  and  the  58th  parallels.  Kodiak  is  the  centre  of  another  archipelago, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska;  and  a  long  line  of  islands, 
forming  the  Aleutian  Archipelago,  stretches  from  the  southern  extremity 
of  Aliaska,  westward,  across  the  sea,  in  the  course  of  the  54th  parallel  of 
latitude,  to  the  vicinity  of  the  opposite  Asiatic  peninsula  of  Kamtchatka. 
The  part  of  the  Pacific  called  the  Sea  of  Kamtchatka,  or  Bering's  Sea, 
north  of  the  Aleutian  chain,  likewise  contains  several  islands,  situated, 
nearly  all,  close  to  the  shores  of  one  or  the  other  continent. 

This  coast,  in  its  whole  length,  from  the  southern  extremity  of  Cali- 
>t)rnia  to  Bering's  Strait,  is  bordered  by  lofty  mountains,  which  appear  to 
form  a  continuous  chain,  partially  broken,  in  a  few  places,  by  the  passage 
across  it  of  rivers  from  the  interior.  The  mountains  rise,  for  the  most 
part,  immediately  from  the  sea-shore,  above  which  they  may  be  seen 
towering  one,  two,  and  even  three,  miles  ir.  perpendicular  elevation :  in 


OBNBBAI<    VIEW    OF    THE    OEOORAPHT. 


^, 


h 


of  Cali- 
)pear  to 
passage 
lie  most 
be  seen 
ion :  in 


eome  places,  howerer,  the  main  ridge  is  separated  from  the  ocean  by 
tracts  of  lower  country,  as  much  as  onb  hundred  miles  in  breadth,  trav- 
ersed by  parallel  lines  of  hills.  This  ridge,  for  which  no  general  name 
has  yet  been  adopted,*  is  almost  entirely  of  volcanic  formation ;  being 
part  of  the  great  line  or  system  of  volcanoes,  which  extends  from  Mexico  to 
the  East  Indies,  passing  along  the  west  coast  of  America,  from  the  south- 
ernmost point  of  California  to  the  south-west  extreme  of  Aliaska,  thence 
through  the  Aleutian  Islands  to  Kamtchatka,  and  thence  southward 
through  the  Kurile,  the  Japan,  the  Philippine,  and  the  Molucca  Islands. 
There  are  many  elevated  peaks,  nearly  all  of  them  volcanoes,  in  every 
part  of  the  chain ;  the  most  remarkable  break,  or  gap,  is  that  near  the 
46th  degree  of  latitude,  through  which  the  Columbia  rushes,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  hundred  miles  from  the  Pacific. 

The  great  chain  of  mountains  which  separates  the  streams  emptying 
into  the  Pacific  from  those  flowing  into  the  other  divisions  of  the  ocean, 
runs  through  the  northern  continent,  as  through  the  southern,  in  a  line 
generally  parallel  with  the  shore  of  the  Pacific,  and  much  nearer  to  that 
sea  than  to  the  Atlantic.  Under  the  40th  degree  of  latitude,  where  the 
western  section  of  America  is  widest,  the  distance  across  it,  from  the 
summit  of  the  dividing  chain  to  the  Pacific,  is  about  seven  hundred  miles, 
which  is  not  more  than  one  third  of  the  distance  from  the  same  point  of 
the  mountains  to  the  Atlantic,  measured  in  the  same  latitude. 

The  dividing  chain  south  of  the  40th  degree  of  latitude  has  received 
many  names,  no  one  of  which  seems  to  have  been  universally  adopted. 
It  has  been  called,  by  some  geographers,  the  Anahuac  Mountains;  and  by 
that  name,  though  entirely  unknown  to  the  people  of  the  adjacent  country, 
it  will  be  distinguished  whenever  reference  is  made  to  it  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages. 

The  portion  of  the  great  ridge  north  of  the  40th  parallel  is  generally 
known  as  the  Rocky  or  Stony  Mountains.  From  that  latitude,  its  course 
is  nearly  due  north-westward,  and  gradually  approaching  the  line  of  the 
Pacific  coast,  to  the  54th  degree,  where  the  main  chain  turns  more  west- 
ward, and  continues  in  that  direction  so  far  as  it  has  been  traced,  —  prob- 
ably to  Bering's  Strait.  Another  ridge,  called  the  Chipewyan  Moun- 
tains, indeed,  extends,  as  if  in  prolongation  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from 
the  53d  parallel,  north-westward,  to  the  Arctic  iSea,  where  it  ends  near  the 
70th  degree  of  latitude ;  but  the  territory  on  its  western  side  is  drained 
by  streams  entering  that  sea  either  directly,  or  passing  through  the  ridge 
into  the  Mackenzie  River,  which  flows  along  its  eastern  base. 

The  Rocky  Mountains,  so  far  as  their  geological  structure  has  been 
ascertained,  consist  of  primary  formations,  principally  of  granite.  Though 
rising,  in  many  places,  from  eight  to  sixteen  thousand  feet  above  the 
ocean  level,  they  do  not,  in  general,  appear  very  high  to  the  beholder,  on 
account  of  the  great  elevation  of  the  country  at  their  bases.  On  the  east- 
ern side,  within  a  hundred  and  fifly  miles  of  the  great  chain,  and  running 
nearly  parallel  to  it,  are  several  ridges,  from  which  the  surface  gradually 
declines,  becoming  more  nearly  plane  as  it  approaches  the  Mississippi, 
the  Red  River,  and  Hudson's  Bay.  The  part  of  the  continent  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  is,  as  already  stated,  traversed,  in  its  whole  extent,  by 

*  The  author  of  this  work  ventures  to  propose,  for  the  great  ridge  here  mentioned, 
the  name  of  Far- West  Mountains,  which  seems  to  be  more  definite,  and  in  every 
respect  more  appropriate,  than  any  other  which  could  ho  adopted. 


6 


OKNEIUL    VIEW    OF    THE    OEOORAPHT. 


lofty  ridges,  separated  only  by  narrow  valleys,  or  plains  of  moderate  width. 
The  country  at  the  base  of  the  chain,  on  the  Atlantic  side,  is  probably 
nowhere  less  than  four  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  and  that 
on  the  Pacific  side  is  doubtless  much  higher. 

The  most  elevated  portion  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  about  the  54th 
degree  of  latitude,  where  the  chain  turns  towards  the  west ;  several  peaks 
in  that  vicinity  have  been  ascertained  to  rise  more  than  sixteen  thousand 
feet  above  the  ocean  level.  Many  points,  which  are  undoubtedly  more 
than  ten  thousand  feet  in  height,  have  been  found  in  the  portion  of  the 
dividing  ridge  called  the  Wind  River  Mountains,  near  the  42d  degree  of 
latitude,  and  farther  south,  in  Long's  Range,  where  the  sources  of  the 
Arkansas  River  are  situated.  ^ 

Among  these  mountains,  nearly  all  the  greatest  rivers  in  North  America 
have  their  sources.  Within  a  hundred  miles  of  the  point  where  the  chain 
is  crossed  by  the  41st  parallel,  rise  —  on  the  eastern  side  —  the  Missouri, 
the  Yellowstone,  the  Platte,  and  the  Arkansas,  the  waters  of  all  which  are 
carried  through  the  Mississippi  into  the  Mexican  Gulf,  and  the  River 
Bravo  del  Norte,  which  falls  into  the  same  arm  of  the  Atlantic ;  while  —  on 
the  western  side  —  are  found  the  springs  of  the  Lewis,  or  Snake,  the  princi- 
pal southern  branch  of  the  Columbia  which  enters  the  Pacific,  and  those 
of  the  Colorado,  which  terminates  in  the  head  or  northern  extremity  of 
the  Californian  Gulf.  The  sources  of  the  Platte,  and  those  of  the  Green 
River,  the  largest  head-water  of  the  Colorado,  are  situated  at  opposite  ends 
of  a  cleft,  or  transverse  valley,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  called  the  South 
Pass,  in  latitude  of  42  degrees  20  minutes,  which  seems  destined  to  be 
the  gate  of  communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  regions 
of  the  continent.'  In  another  great  cleft,  called  by  the  British  traders 
the  Punch  Bowl,  near  the  53d  parallel,  overhung  by  the  highest  peaks 
of  the  chain,  the  northern  branch  of  the  Columbia  issues  from  a  lake, 
situated  within  a  few  feet  of  another  lake,  from  which  runs  the  west 
branch  of  the  Athabasca,  one  of  the  affluents  to  the  Mackenzie ;  and  at  a 
short  distance  south  rises  the  Saskatchawine,  which  takes  its  course  east- 
ward to  Lake  Winnipeg,  and  contributes  to  the  supply  of  Hudson's  Bay. 
In  many  places  between  the  42d  and  the  50th  degrees  of  latitude,  the 
upper  streams  of  the  Missouri  lie  very  near  to  those  of  the  Columbia ;  but 
no  gap  or  depression,  which  appears  to  offer  facilities  for  travelling  or 
transportation  of  merchandise,  has  been  discovered  in  that  part  of  the 
dividing  chain. 

The  ridges  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  great  westernmost 
chain  which  borders  the  Pacific  coast,  appear  to  be  all  united  with  one  or 
both  of  those  chains,  and  to  run,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  same  general 
direction,  from  south-east  to  north-west.  The  most  extensive  of  these 
intermediate  ridges,  called  the  Snowy  Mountains,  is  believed  to  stretch 
uninterruptedly  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  westernmost  range,  and 
even  to  the  Pacific,  nearly  in  the  course  of  the  4Ist  parallel  of  latitude, 
dividing  the  regions  drained  by  the  Columbia,  on  the  north,  from  Cali- 
fornia, on  the  south.  Another  ridge,  called  the  Blue  Mountains,  extends 
northward  from  the  Snowy  Mountains  to  the  47th  parallel,  bounding  the 
valley  of  the  Snake  or  Len.'S  River,  the  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia, 
on  the  west.  A  lofty  ridge  also  runs  from  the  westernmost  chain,  near 
the  48th  degree  of  latitude,  northward,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  it 
joins  near  the  54th  degree  separating  the  waters  of  the  northern  branch 


GENERAL   VIEW   OF   THE   OEOORAPHV. 


te  width, 
probably 
and  that 

the  54th 
tral  peaks 
thousand 
idly  more 
on  of  the 
degree  of 
es  of  the 

1  America 
the  chain 
Missouri, 
which  are 
the  River 
hile  —  on 
the  princi- 
and  those 
tremity  of 
the  Green 
)osite  ends 
the  South 
ined  to  be 
ific  regions 
ish  traders 
|hest  peaks 
im  a  lake, 
the  west 
and  at  a 
lourse  east- 
son's  Bay. 
ititude,  the 
fmbia;  but 
ivelling  or 
^art  of  the 

jsternmost 
ath  one  or 
le  general 
le  of  these 
I  to  stretcli 
range,  and 
If  latitude, 
[from  Cali- 
|is,  extends 
mding  the 
Columbia, 
Ihain,  near 
J,  which  it 
Im  branch 


of  the  Columbia  from  those  of  Fraser's  River  oa  the  west,  and  constitating 
another  natural  boundary  to  the  territory  drained  by  the  former  stream. 
Of  the  interior  of  California,  little  is  known  with  certainty :  it  is,  however, 
probable  that  a  ridge  extends  from  the  Snowy  Mountains,  near  their 
junction  with  the  Rocky  Mountains,  about  the  43d  degree  of  latitude, 
southward,  to  the  great  westernmost  chain,  near  the  32d  degree,  where  the 
Californian  peninsula  joins  the  continent,  forming  the  western  wall  of  the 
valley  of  the  Colorado  River. 

The  territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  abound  in  lakes,  several 
of  which  present  surfaces  of  great  extent :  some  of  them  communicate 
with  rivers ;  others  have  no  outlet,  and  their  waters  are  consequently  salt.* 
The  largest,  called  the  Timpanogos,  or  Utah  Lake,  among  the  Snowy 
Mountains,  between  the  40th  and  the  42d  degrees  of  latitude,  belongs  to 
the  latter  class,  and  is  probably  not  less  than  two  thousand  miles  in  area. 
The  most  extensive  of  the  fresh-water  lakes  is  the  KuUispelm,  or  Clarke's 
Lake,  formed  by  the  expansion  of  the  Clarke  River,  in  a  valley  surrounded 
by  high  mountains,  under  the  48th  parallel. 

The  countries  on  the  Pacific  side  of  North  America  differ  materially  in 
climate  from  those  east  of  the  great  dividing  range  of  mountains  situated 
in  the  same  latitudes,  and  at  equal  distances  from  and  elevations  above  the 
ocean.  These  differences  are  less  within  the  torrid  zone,  and  beyond  the 
60th  parallel ;  but  in  the  intermediate  space,  every  part  of  the  Pacific  sec- 
tion is  much  warmer  and  much  drier  than  places  in  the  Atlantic  or  the 
Arctic  sections  under  the  same  conditions  as  above  expressed.  Thus  the 
north-westernmost  regions  of  America  appear  to  be  as  cold,  and  to  receive  as 
much  rain  and  snow  from  the  heavens,  as  those  surrounding  Baffin's  Bay, 
or  those  in  their  own  immediate  vicinity  in  Asia ;  but  in  the  countries  on 
the  Pacific  side  corresponding  in  latitude  and  other  respects  with  Wis- 
consin, Canada,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Newfoundland,  the  ground  is  rarely 
covered  with  snow  for  more  than  three  or  four  weeks  in  each  year,  and  it 
often  remains  unfrozen  throughout  the  winter.  In  the  countries  on  the 
west  coast,  opposite  to  Virginia  and  Carolina,  the  winter  is  merely  a  wet 
season,  no  rain  falling  at  any  other  time;  and  in  the  Californian  peninsula, 
which  is  included  between  the  same  parallels  of  latitude  as  Georgia  and 
Florida,  the  temperature  is  as  high  as  in  any  tropical  region,  and  many 
years  in  succession  pass  by  without  a  shower  or  even  a  cloud.  It  is 
likewise  observed,  especially  between  the  30th  and  the  50th  parallels,  that 
the  interior  portions  of  the  Pacific  section  are  much  more  dry,  and  the 

*  Wherever  water  runs  on  or  passes  through  the  earth,  it  meets  with  salts,  in 
quantities  greater  or  less,  according  to  the  structure  of  the  soil,  and  the  space  passed 
over  or  through :  these  salts  it  dissolves,  and  carries  to  its  final  recipient,  either  the 
ocean,  or  some  lake  or  marsh,  or  sandy  region,  having  no  coinmunication,  either  above 
or  below  the  surface,  with  any  lower  recipient ;  and,  as  the  water  can  only  escape 
naturally  from  this  recipient,  by  evaporation,  which  cannot  abstract  a  single  saline 

f (article,  it  follows,  as  a  necessary  consequence,  that  the  salt  must  always  be  accumu- 
ating  there.  Thus  the  Dead  Sea,  which  has  no  outlet,  is  saturated  with  salts,  while 
the  Lake  of  Tiberias,  from  which  it  receives  its  waters  through  the  Jordan,  is  per- 
fectly fresh ;  and  innumerable  other  instances  may  be  cited.  In  like  manner,  the 
ground  in  countries  from  which  the  water  is  not  regularly  carried  off  by  streams  or 
mfiltration,  is  generally  impregnated  with  salt ;  of  which  examples  are  offered  in  the 
high  plains  ot  Mexico,  in  some  valleys  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  in  many 
parts  of  the  United  States.  The  reverse  may  not  be  always  true ;  but  the  saltness  of 
a  larse  body  of  water,  or  a  large  extent  of  ground,  affords  strong  reasons  for  suspect- 
ing ue  want  of  a  drain  from  it  into  a  lower  recipient. 


i 


8  GGNEBAIj   ViKW    OF    THE    OKOOKAPHT. 

difference  in  temperature  between  the  day  and  the  succeeding  night  is, 
at  all  seasons,  but  particularly  in  summer,  greater  than  in  the  countries 
nearer  to  the  ocean.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add,  that,  in  territories 
so  scantily  and  irregularly  supplied  with  water,  the  surface  must  be,  in 
general,  bare  and  destitute  of  vegetation ;  and  such  is  the  character  of 
the  greater  portion  of  the  continent  west  of  the  dividing  range  of 
mountains. 

The  central  regions  of  the  continent  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
exhibit,  though  in  a  less  degree,  the  same  peculiarities  of  climate  with 
those  adjoining,  in  the  Pacific  section.  The  vast  plains,  extending  from 
the  vicinity  of  the  dividing  chain  towards  the  Mississippi,  south  of  the 
50th  parallel  of  latitude,  are  almost  as  arid  and  barren  as  the  countries  on 
the  other  side  of  the  ridge;  the  rains  are  neither  frequent  nor  heavy 
during  the  warm  months,  and  the  surface,  except  in  a  few  spots  near  the 
rivers,  consists  of  sand  and  sandstone  strongly  impregnated  with  salt, 
and  affords  support  only  to  stiff  grass  and  shrubs.  Descending  towards 
the  Mississippi,  the  climate  and  soil  become  more  favorable  to  vegetable 
life,  and  the  country  gradually  assumes  the  characters  of  the  other  Atlan- 
tic regions.  North  of  the  50th  parallel,  there  is  more  rain  or  snow,  at  all 
seasons,  on  each  side  of  the  ridge,  though  less  on  the  west  than  on  the 
east ;  the  intensity  of  the  cold,  and  its  long  duration,  particularly  on  the 
eastern  side,  render  those  territories  almost  all  uninhabitable  by  those 
who  depend  on  agriculture  for  subsistence. 

In  consequence  of  this  greater  aridity  of  the  climate  on  the  western  side 
of  America,  the  irregularity  of  the  surface,  and  the  proximity  of  the 
dividing  chain  of  mountains  to  the  coast,  the  rivers  on  that  side  are 
generally  neither  so  long,  nor  so  abundant  in  water,  nor  navigable  to 
such  distances  from  their  mouths,  as  those  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic. 
The  Columbia  and  the  Colorado  are  the  only  streams  known  to  flow  from 
America  into  the  Pacific,  which  can  be  compared,  in  any  of  these 
respects,  with  several  in  the  other  sections  of  the  continent ;  yet  they 
are  each  certainly  inferior  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Mississippi,  the 
Orinoco,  the  Amazon,  and  the  Plate,  and  probably,  also,  to  the  Macken- 
zie. These  and  the  other  rivers  of  Western  America  run,  in  nearly  their 
whole  course,  through  deep  ravines,  among  stony  mountains ;  and  they 
are,  for  the  most  part,  crossed  at  short  intervals  by  ledges  of  rock,  pro- 
ducing falls  and  rapids,  which  render  all  navigation  on  them  impossible, 
and  to  overcome  which,  all  the  resources  of  art  would  be  unavailing. 

In  the  territory  east  of  the  dividing  chain,  and  south  of  the  50th  paral- 
lel of  latitude,  are  many  rivers  flowing  from  the  mountains  to  the  Missis- 
sippi ;  but  none  of  them  seem  calculated  to  serve  as  channels  for  commu- 
nication between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  regions.  The  Missouri  and 
the  Yellowstone  each  take  a  devious  course ;  so  that,  after  ascending 
either  of  them  to  the  head  of  its  navigation,  the  distance  to  the  habitable 
countries  on  the  Pacific  is  almost  as  great  as  from  a  point  on  the  Missouri, 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  miles  below.  The  Platte  flows  nearly,  under 
the  42d  parallel  of  latitude,  from  its  source  in  the  South  Pass,  the  princi- 
pal clefl  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  Missouri,  precisely  in  the  direc- 
tion most  favorable  for  intercourse  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Columbia  countries;  but  it  is  the  most  shallow  of  all  large  rivers:  travers- 
ing a  surface  nearly  plain,  the  increase  of  its  waters,  produced  annually 
by  the  rains  and  melting  of  the  snows,  only  serves  to  render  it  wider 


V'. 


aXNERAL    VIEW    OF    THE    OEOQiUFUY. 


.!» 


night  IB, 
countries 
:erritories 
ist  be,  in 
racter  of 
range  of 

(fountains 
mate  with 
iing  from 
ith  of  the 
untries  on 
nor  heavy 
s  near  the 

with  salt, 
ig  towards 

vegetable 
her  Atlan- 
now,  at  all 
lan  on  the 
irly  on  the 
e  by  those 

restern  side 
lity  of  the 
at  side  are 
avigable  to 
lie  Atlantic. 
0  flow  from 
y  of  these 
;   yet  they 
issippi,  the 
le  Macken- 
learly  their 
:  and  they 
rock,  pro- 
impossible, 
ailing. 
50th  paral- 
the  Missis- 
for  commu- 
issouri  and 
ascending 
le  habitable 
le  Missouri, 
arly,  under 
the  princi- 
the  direo- 
ii   and  the 
jrs;  travers- 
>d  annually 
!r  it  wider 


without  any  considerable  increase  of  its  depth,  which  is  every  wh^ietoo 
small  for  the  passage  of  the  lightest  boats.  Nature  has,  however,  pro* 
vided  a  road  along  its  banks,  over  which  heavy  wagons  now  annually  roll 
between  Missouri  and  Oregon ;  and,  with  a  little  assistance  from  art  in 
some  places,  this  road  may  be  rendered  one  of  the  best  in  the  world. 

The  territory  farther  north,  extending  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
Hudson's  Bay  and  the  Arctic  Sea,  is  traversed  by  innumerable  riveis 
falling  into  those  parts  of  the  ocean.  Of  these,  the  principal  are  the  Red 
River,  of  the  north,  the  Assinaboin,  and  the  Saskatchawine,  emptying  into 
Lake  Winnipeg,  which  communicates  by  several  cliannels  with  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  the  Missinippi  or  Churchill's  River,  fulling  directly  into  that  ' 
bay ;  while  the  Arctic  Sea  receives,  nearly  under  the  69th  parallel  of 
latitude,  Back's  or  the  Great  Fish  River,  the  Coppermine,  and  the 
Mackenzie,  the  latter  draining  a  territory  scarcely  less  extensive  than 
that  of  the  Columbia.  The  regions  crossed  by  these  rivers  are,  in  gen- 
eral, so  nearly  level,  that  it  is,  in  iniiiiy  places,  difficult  to  trace  the  limits  :- 
of  the  tracts  from  which  the  waters  flow  into  their  respective  channels  oXrA' 
basins.  They  contain  numerous  lakes,  some  very  large,  and  nearly  aU 
connected  with  each  other,  and  with  the  Arctic  Sea  on  the  north,  aito 
Hudson's  Bay  on  the  east ;  and  the  head-waters  of  the  rivers  supplying 
these  reservoirs  are  situated  in  tiie  vii  inity  of  the  sources  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, or  of  the  Missouri,  or  of  the  Columbia,  or  of  the  streams  falling 
into  Lake  Superior.  The  rivers  above  named  are  all  navigable  for  great 
distances  by  boats,  and  they  thus  affurd  considerable  advantages  for  com- 
mercial intercourse ;  goods  being  now  transported  across  the  continent, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  to  Hudson's  Bay  or  to  Montreal,  and 
vice  versa,  almost  entirely  by  water. 

Under  circumstances  of  climate,  soil,  and  conformation  of  surface,  so 
different,  it  may  be  supposed  that  considerable  differences  should  exist 
between  the  productions  of  the  great  divisions  of  America  here  men- 
tioned. It  has  been,  accordingly,  found  that  few  species  of  plants  or  of 
animals  are  common  to  them  all,  and  that  many  which  abound  in  one  arc 
rare,  if  not  entirely  wanting,  in  the  others.  Some  plants,  especially  the 
pines  and  cedars,  acquire  a  greater  development  in  the  regions  near  the 
Pacific  than  in  any  other  country ;  but  a  large  portion  of  those  territories 
is,  from  reasou.<3  already  shown,  entirely  and  irretrievably  barren.  In 
recompense  for  this  sterility  of  the  soil,  the  rivers  of  the  Pacific  section 
abound  in  fish,  particularly  in  salmon,  which  ascend  them  to  great  dis- 
tances from  the  sea,  and  form  the  principal  support  of  the  inhabitants. 

With  respect  to  the  aborigines  of  these  countries,  liie  Arctic  coasts 
of  America  are  occupied  by  a  race  called  Esquimaux,  distinguished  by 
peculiar  marks  from  all  others,  who  are  likewise  found  on  the  northern- 
most shores  of  the  Pacific,  and  particularly  in  the  islands  between  the 
two  continents,  intermingled  with  the  Tchukskf,  the  aborigines  of  north- 
ernmost Asia.  The  remainder  of  the  Pacific  section,  and,  indeed,  of  the 
whole  American  continent,  except,  perhaps,  Patagonia,  appears  to  have 
been  inhabited,  before  the  entrance  of  the  Europeans,  by  one  and  the 
same  race;  the  natives  of  the  different  portions  differing  but  slightly,  con- 
sidering the  varieties  of  climate,  soil,  and  situation,  and  the  consequent 
varieties  in  modes  of  life.  That  some  admixture  with  the  races  of  South- 
eastern Asia  may  have  taken  place,  is  not  improbable,  from  the  fact  that 
Japanese  vessels  have  more  than  once  been  thrown  on  the  north-west 

2 


10 


OBNBBAL  TICW  OF  THE  OEOOBAPBT. 


eoiiti  of  America  aince  the  beginning  of  the  present  century ;  bat  no 
evidence  or  strong  ground  of  supposition  of  such  admixture  has  been 
discovered  in  the  appearance  of  any  part  of  the  population  of  those 
eoMts. 

The  settlements  of  civilized  nations  in  the  Pacific  section  of  North 
America  are  inconsiderable  in  extent.  Those  of  the  Russians  are  scat- 
tered along  the  coasts  and  islands  north  of  the  latitude  of  54  degrees  40 
minutes;  they  are  all  under  the  direction  of  the  Russian  American 
Trading  Company,  and  are  devoted  entirely  to  the  collection  of  the 
furs  and  skins  uf  the  land  and  sea  animals  abounding  in  that  quarter,  of 
which  large  quantities  are  transported  for  sale  to  Asia  and  Europe.  Those 
of  the  British  and  of  citizens  of  the  United  States  are  intermingled 
throughout  the  regions  south  and  east  of  the  Russian  territory,  to  Cali- 
fornia; the  British,  in  general,  occupying  the  parts  north,  and  the 
Americans  those  south,  of  the  Columbia  River,  which  enters  the  Pacific 
near  the  46th  degree  of  latitude.  The  people  of  both  the  last-mentioned 
nations  have  hitherto,  likewise,  been  employed  principally  in  the  fur  trade ; 
but,  that  business  having  become  less  profitable  of  late  years,  from  the 
diminution  of  the  animals,  agricultural  establishments  have  been  formed, 
especially  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Columbia.  The  British  are  all  under  the  control  of  the  Hudson's  Bny 
Company,  which  possesses,  in  virtue  of  a  royal  grant,  the  privilege,  in 
exclusion  of  other  British  subjects,  of  trading  in  all  the  Indian  countries 
of  North  America  belonging  to,  or  claimed  by,  that  power;  and  they 
are  protected  and  restrained  by  British  laws,  under  an  act  of  Parliumeiit 
extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Canada  courts  over  those  countries,  su 
far  as  relates  to  subjects  of  that  nation.  The  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  contrary,  are  deprived  of  all  protection,  and  are  independent  of 
all  control;  as  they  are  not  subject  to  British  laws,  and  their  own  govern- 
ment exercises  no  authority  whatsoever  over  any  part  of  Amcricf  'vest  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  California,  south  of  the  38th  degree  of  lati- 
tude, are  many  colonies,  garrisons,  and  missionary  stations,  founded  by 
the  Spaniards  during  the  last  century,  and  now  maintained  by  the  Mexi- 
cans, who  succeeded  to  the  rights  of  Spain  in  1821.  They  are  all  situ- 
ated in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  coasts,  the  interior  regions  being,  ns 
yet,  almost  unknown.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  California,  though 
thinly  inhabited  by  a  wretched,  indolent  population,  is  the  only  part  of 
the  Pacific  section  of  North  America  which  can  be  considered  as  regiijnrly 
settled,  —  which  possesses  an  organized  civil  and  social  system,  and  where 
individuals  hold  a  property  in  the  soil  secured  to  them  by  law. 

Each  of  these  four  nations  claims  the  exclusive  possession  of  a  portion 
of  the  territory  on  the  Pacific  side  of  America,  north  of  the  Californian 
Gulf;  and  each  of  them  is  a  party  to  some  treaty  with  another,  for  the 
temporary  use,  or  definitive  sovereignty,  of  such  portion.  Thus  it  has 
been  agreed,  by  treaty,  in  1819,  between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  — 
renewed,  in  1828,  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  —  that  a  line, 
drawn  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  in  the  course  of  the 
42d  parallel  of  latitude,  should  separate  the  dominions  of  the  former 
power  on  the  north  from  those  of  Mexico  on  the  south.  It  was,  in  like 
manner,  agreed,  in  1824,  by  convention  between  the  United  States  and 
Russia,  that  the  former  nation  should  make  no  establishments  on  the 
coasts  north  of  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  and  that  the  latter 


OBNMAL    VIBW   Or  THE   OEOORAPHY. 


41 


should  make  none  south  of  the  snme  line ;  but  this  convention  was  neu- 
tralized, and,  in  fact,  abrogated,  by  a  treaty  concluded  between  Russit 
and  Great  Britain  in  the  following  year,  by  which  nil  the  territories  of  the 
main  land  and  islands,  north  and  west  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  latitude 
of  64  degrees  40  minutes,  north-westward,  along  the  highlands  bordering 
the  Pacinc  coasts,  to  Mount  St.  Elias,  and  thence  due  north  to  the  Arctic 
Sea,  were  to  belong  to  Russia,  while  all  east  and  south  of  that  line  were 
to  be  the  property  of  Great  Britain. 

The  possession  of  the  vast  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
between  these  two  lines  of  boundary,  long  remained  undetermined  ;  the 
United  States  claiming  the  portion  north  of  the  42d  parallel,  and  Great 
Britain  claiming  that  south  from  the  other  line,  to  such  extent  as  to 
secure  to  the  claimant  in  each  case  the  whole,  or  nearly  the  whole,  valley 
of  the  Columbia :  and  neither  nation  being  willing  to  recede  from  its 
pretensions,  a  compromise  was  made  by  convention,  m  1818,  and  renewed 
in  1827,  agreeably  to  which  all  these  countries  remained  free  and  open 
to  the  people  of  both.  At  length,  however,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1846, 
a  new  convention  was  concluded,  for  a  definitive  partition  of  the  disputed 
territory,  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  westward,  alonff 
the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  southward,  through 
the  middle  of  that  strait,  to  the  Pacific ;  all  south  of  which  line  is  assigned 
to  the  United  States,  and  all  north  of  it,  including  the  northern  portion 
of  the  Columbia,  Frazer's  River,  and  the  southern  division  of  the  North- 
West  Archipelago,  to  Great  Britain. 

The  long  dispute,  with  regard  to  the  possession  of  the  countries  on  the 
north-west  side  of  North  America,  was  thus  amicably  terminated  ;  at  the 
same  time,  however,  the  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico 
raises  a  doubt  as  to  the  continuance  of  the  dominion  of  the  latter  nation 
in  California,  on  which  no  speculations  will  be  here  ofiered. 

Having  presented  this  concise  general  view  of  the  western  section  of 
North  America,  its  divisions  will  now  be  described  in  detail,  beginning 
with  the  most  southern,  under  the  heads  of  California,  Oregon,  and  Rus- 
sian America. 


•>    Hi  J  lint  ji\.   -         .1.1 


CALIFORNIA. 


Thb  name  California  was  first  assigned,  by  the  Spaniards,  in  1536,  to 
the  great  peninsula  which  extends  on  the  w«>Mern  side  of  North  America, 
firom  the  32d  degree  of  latitude,  southwardly,  to  and  within  the  limits  of 
the  torrid  zone;  and  it  was  afterwards  made  to  comprehend  the  whole 
division  of  the  continent  north-west  of  Mexico,  just  as  that  of  Florida 
was  applied  to  the  opposite  portion  on  the  Atlantic  side.  At  the  present 
d^y,  California  is  usually  considered  as  including  the  peninsula,  and  the 
territory  extending  from  it,  on  the  Pacific,  northward,  as  far  as  the  limits 
of  Oregon,  or  the  country  of  the  Columbia  River ;  Cape  Mendocino,  in 
the  latitude  of  40  degrees  10  minutes,  being  assumed  as  the  puint  of 
wparation  of  the  two  coasts.  The  Mexican  government,  however,  re- 
gards the  43d  parallel  of  latitude  as  the  northern  limit  of  California, 
agreeably  to  the  treaty  concluded  between  that  republic  and  the  United 
States  of  America  in  1828. 

California  is  naturally  divided  into  two  portions  —  the  peninsular,  called 
Old  or  Lower  California  —  and  the  continental,  or  New,  or  Upper  Califor- 
nia, the  line  of  separation  between  which  runs  nearly  along  the  32d 
parallel  of  latitude,  from  the  head  or  northern  extremity  of  the  Californian 
Gulf,  westward  to  the  Pacific. 

The  Gulf  of  California  will  be  first  considered.  This  Gulf,  called  by 
the  Spaniards  the  Sea  of  Cort6s,  but  more  commonly  the  Vermilion  Sea, 
(Mar  Vermejo,)  is  a  great  arm  of  the  Pacific,  which  joins  that  ocean 
under  the  23d  parallel  of  latitude,  and  thence  extends  north-eastward,  be- 
tween  the  American  continent  on  the  east  and  the  Californian  peninsula  on 
the  west,  to  its  head  or  termination,  near  the  32d  parallel,  where  it  receives 
the  waters  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila  Rivers.  Its  length  is  about  seven 
hundred  miles ;  its  breadth,  at  its  junction  with  the  Pacific,  is  one  hundred 
miles:  farther  north,  it  is  somewhat  wider,  and,  still  farther,  its  shores 
gradually  approach  each  other,  until  they  become  the  banks  of  the  Colo- 
rado. It  contains  many  islands,  of  which  the  largest  are  Carmen,  near 
the  25th  degree  of  latitude,  Tiburon  and  Santa  Ines,  near  the  29th,  and 
some  others  at  the  northern  extremity.  The  western  or  peninsular  coasts 
of  the  gulf  are  high,  steep,  and  rocky,  offering  very  few  places  of  security 
for  vessels;  and  not  a  sinorle  stream  which  deserves  the  name  of  a  river 
enters  it  on  that  side.  The  eastern  or  continental  shores  are  generally 
low,  and  the  sea  in  their  vicinity  is  so  shallow  as  to  render  the  navigation 
along  them  dangerous. 

The  peninsular  coast  of  the  gulf  has  long  been  celebrated  for  the  great 
size  and  beauty  of  the  pearls  contained  in  the  oysters  which  abound  in 
the  sea  on  that  side  ;  and  the  search  for  those  precious  stones  has  always 
formed  the  principal  employment  of  people  of  civilized  nations  in  that 
quarter      The  pearls  are  procured,  with  much  danger  and  difficulty,  by 


OBOORAPHT   or    CALirORNIA* 


18! 


lodiani,  who  dive  for  them  to  the  depth  of  twenty  or  more  fMt,  ami  «f 
whom  a  large  proportion  are  annually  drowned  or  deroured  bv  aharka. 
A  company,  formed  at  Londmi  in  Id'ii),  sent  Lieutenant  Hardy  to  the 
Californian  coaat,  with  two  veasela,  oarryin((  diving-bella,  by  the  aid  of 
which  it  was  expected  that  the  pearl  fishery  might  be  conducted  more 
safely,  as  well  as  profitably,  than  by  the  ordinary  nieana ;  but,  unfortu- 
natelr,  it  proved  that  the  uysturs  always  lie  in  crevices  of  the  rocks,  to 
which  no  acpess  can  he  had  by  persons  in  the  diving-bell,  and  the  enter- 
prise  was,  in  consequence,  abandoned.  The  value  of  the  pearls  obtained 
appears  to  be  trifling  when  compared  with  the  time  and  labor  employed  in 
the  search  for  them.  In  1825,  eisht  vessels  engaged  in  the  busineas  col- 
lected together  five  pounds  of  peans,  which  were  worth  about  ten  thousand 
dollars.  Occasionally,  however,  a  single  stone  is  found  of  value  sufficient 
to  afibrd  compensation  for  years  of  fi'uitless  labor ;  and  some  of  the  rich- 
est pearls  in  the  regalia  of  Spain  are  the  produce  of  the  fishery  in  the 
Californian  Gulf. 

The  territory  extending  east  from  the  Californian  Gulf  to  the  summit 
of  the  great  dividing  cham  of  the  Anahuac  Mountains,  forms  two  politi- 
cal divisions  of  the  Mexican  republic,  of  which  the  northern  is  called 
•Sonora,  (a  corruption  of  Senoro,)  and  the  southern  Sinaloa.  These 
countries  are,  as  yet,  thinly  inhabited :  from  the  general  productive- 
ness of  their  soil,  the  salubrity  of  their  climate,  and  the  number  and  rich- 
ness of  their  mines  of  gold  and  silver,  they  seem  calculated  for  the  support 
of  a  large  population,  for  which  the  gulf,  and  the  many  rivers  flowing 
into  it  from  the  mountains  on  the  east,  will  afibrd  the  means  of  communi- 
Rating  with  other  lands.  The  port  of  Guaymas,  in  Sonora,  in  latitude  of 
27  degrees  40  minutes,  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  on  the  Pacific  side 
of  America.  Mazatlan,  in  Sonora,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Californian 
Gulf,  has  been,  hitherto,  more  generally  frequented ;  but  it  is  neither  so 
secure  as  Guaymas,  nor  is  the  territory  in  its  vicinity  so  productive  or 
healthy.  South-east  of  Mazatlan,  in  latitude  of  27  degrees  29  minutes, 
is  San  Bias,  the  principal  commercial  port  of  Mexico  on  the  Pacific,  one 
of  the  hottest  and  most  unhealthy  spots  on  the  globe ;  and  still  farther,  in 
the  same  direction,  are  Navidad,  Acapulco,  and  the  harbor  of  Tehuante- 
pec,  all  celebrated,  in  former  times,  as  places  of  trade,  but  now  decaying 
and  deserted. 

The  peninsula  of  California  is  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  in 
breadth  where  it  joins  the  continent,  under  the  32d  parallel,  that  is  to  say, 
nearly  in  the  same  latitude  with  the  city  of  Savannah,  in  Georgia. 
Thence  it  extends  south-eastward,  varying,  but  generally  diminishing,  in 
breadth  between  the  Pacific  on  the  west  and  the  Californian  Gulf  on  the 
east,  to  its  termination  in  two  points  —  Cape  San  Lucas,  the  south- 
westernmost,  in  latitude  of  22  degrees  52  minutes,  corresponding  nearly 
with  that  of  the  city  of  Havanna,  in  Cuba  —  and  Cape  Palmo,  60  miles 
east  by  north  of  the  other,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Californian  Gulf. 

Continental  California  extends,  upon  the  Pacific,  from  the  32d  parallel  of 
latitude,  where  it  joins  the  peninsula,  about  seven  hundred  miles  north-west- 
ward to  Oregon,  from  which  it  is  divided,  nearly  in  the  course  of  the  42d 
parallel, — that  is,  nearly  in  the  latitude  of  Boston,—  by  u  chain  of  highlands 
called  the  Snowy  Mountains,  the  Sierra  Nevada  of  the  Spaniards.  Its 
boundaries  on  the  west  are  not,  as  yet,  determined  politically  by  the 
Mexican  government;    nor  do  geographers  agree  with   regard  to  its 


14 


GEOGRAPHY    OF    CALIFOnNIA. 


natural  limits  in  tha*  direction.  By  some,  it  is  considered  as  embracing, 
like  Chili,  only  the  territory  between  the  Pacific  and  the  summit  of  the 
great  mountain  chain,  which  borders  the  western  side  of  the  continent : 
others  extend  its  limits  to  the  Colorado ;  while  others  include  in  it,  and 
others  again  exclude  from  it,  the  '  ntire  regions  drained  by  that  river. 
The  only  portion  occupied  by  the  Mexicans,  or  of  which  any  distinct  ac- 
counts have  been  obtained,  is  that  between  the  great  chain  of  mountains 
and  the  ocean ;  the  country  east  of  that  ridge  to  the  Colorado  appears  to 
be  an  uninhabitable  dcaert. 

The  Californian  peninsula  is  merely  the  southern  portion  of  the  great 
westernmost  chain  of  mountains,  prolonged  through  the  Pacific.  It 
consists  entirely  of  high,  stony  ridges,  separated  by  narrow,  sandy  val« 
leys,  and  contains  no  tracts  of  level  ground  of  any  extent.  At  its 
southern  extremity,  the  earth  is  sometimes  visited  by  showers  in  the  sum- 
mer, but  never  at  any  other  period  of  the  year :  near  its  junction  with 
the  continent,  rain  is  seen  only  in  winter ;  and  in  the  intermediate  por- 
tion, many  years  i.i  succession  pass  by  without  the  appearance  of  a 
drop  of  water  from  tho  heavens,  or  indeed  of  a  single  cloud,  while  the 
rays  of  the  sun,  thus  uninterrupted- in  their  passage,  produce  a  heat  as 
intense  as  that  in  any  other  region  of  the  world.  Under  such  circum> 
stances,  as  might  be  supposed,  the  springs  of  water  are  few  and  slender, 
and  the  surface  is  almost  every  where  destitute  of  vegetation.  The 
peninsula  is,  on  the  whole,  an  irreclaimable  desert :  yet,  wherever  irri- 
gation is  practicable,  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  is  extraordinary  ;  and 
the  little  oases  formed  by  the  passage  of  a  slender  rivulet  through  a 
narrow,  sandy  defile,  may  thus  be  made  to  yield  all  the  fruits  of  tropical 
climes  in  abundance,  and  of  the  finest  quality. 

The  southern  portion  of  the  peninsula  contains  several  mines  of  gold, 
which  have  been  worked,  though  not  extensively.  The  only  mine  as  yet 
discovered  in  continental  California  is  one  of  gold,  situated  at  the  foot 
of  the  great  westernmost  range  of  mountains,  on  the  west,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  twenty-five  miles  from  Angeles,  the  largest  town  in  the  country. 
It  is  said  to  be  of  extraordinary  richness. 

The  animals  originally  found  in  Califoruia  were  buffaloes,  —  though  in 
small  numbers,  compared  with  those  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  —  deer, 
elk,  bears,  wild  hogs,  wild  sheep,  ocelotes,  beavers,  foxes,  and  many  others, 
generally  of  species  different  from  those  in  the  Atlantic  regions  of  the 
continent.  Sea  otters  were  very  abundant  on  the  northern  parts  of  the 
coasts,  but  they  have  disappeared.  Cattle  and  horses  were  introduced  by 
the  Spaniards  from  Mexico,  and  have  increased  in  an  extraordinary  de- 
gree, particularly  the  cattle,  with  which  the  valleys  near  the  coast  of  the 
continental  portion  are  covered.  One  of  the  scourges  of  this  country  is 
the  chapul,  a  kind  of  grasshopper,  which  appears  in  summer,  especially 
after  a  mild  winter,  in  clouds  resembling  the  locusts  of  Southern  Asia, 
destroying  every  vegetable  substance  in  their  way. 

The  aborigines  of  California  are  placed,  by  those  who  have  had  the 
best  opportunity  of  studying  their  character  and  disposition,  with  the 
Hottentots,  the  Patagonians,  and  the  Australians,  among  the  lowest  of  the 
hujnan  race ;  those  ol  the  continental  portion  being  considered  less  fero- 
cious, but  more  indolent  and  vicious,  than  the  natives  of  the  peninsula. 
The  Spaniards  made  many  attempts,  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  to   found  settlements   in   the   country,   all   of  which  proved 


% 


GEOGRAPHY    OF    CALIFORNIA. 


lough  in 
deer, 
y  others, 
IS  of  the 
ts  of  the 
uced  by 
lary  de- 
t  of  the 
untry  is 
pecially 
n  Asia, 

had  the 
f'lth  the 
^t  of  the 
Bss  fero- 
Ininsula. 
Inteenth 
proved 


abortive;  until,  at  length,  in  1699,  the  Jesuits,  by  permission  of  the  king 
of  Spain,  undertook  to  convert  the  natives  to  Christianity,  and  to  initiate 
them  into  the  usages  and  arts  of  civilized  life.  With  this  view,  they 
formed  a  number  of  missions,  near  the  east  coasts  of  the  peninsula,  and, 
by  untiring  assiduity,  they  had  succeeded  partly  in  their  objects  before 
176S,  when  the  Jesuits  were,  in  execution  of  a  decree  issued  at  Madrid, 
expelled  from  the  Spanish  dominions  ;  their  establishments  were  then 
confided  to  the  Dominicans,  under  whose  charge  they  have  since  re> 
mained  with  little  advantage  in  any  way. 

The  number  of  persons  in  the  peninsula  at  present  has  been  variously 
estimated ;  from  the  best  accounts,  it  does  not  exceed  Ave  thousand,  of 
whom  a  small  proportion  only  are  Mexicans,  and  very  few  are  of  European 
origin.  The  principal  places  now  occupied  by  the  Mexicans  are  —  Loreto, 
formerly  the  principal  mission  of  the  Jesuits,  and  now  the  capital  of  Old 
California,  a  miserable  village  of  about  two  hundred  persons,  situated 
near  the  gulf,  opposite  the  Island  of  Carmen,  in  latitude  of  25  degrees  14 
minutes  —  La  Paz,  on  the  Bay  of  Pichilingue,  a  little  farther  south,  the 
port  of  communication  with  Mexico —  and  Port  San  Jose,  near  Cape  San 
Lucas,  where  an  establishment  has  been  recently  formed  in  a  plain,  watered 
by  a  slender  rill.  From  these  places,  small  quantities  of  tortoise  shells,  dried 
meat,  cheese,  and  dried  fruits,  the  latter  said  to  be  excellent,  are  sent  to 
San  Bias,  in  Mexico,  or  sold  to  trading  vessels  which  occasionally  enter 
the  gulf  during  their  tour  along  the  coasts.  There  are  several  other 
spots  on  the  gulf  offering  good  harbors  for  vessels,  though  they  present  no 
facilities  for  settlements  ;  among  which  the  principal  is  the  BayofMulege, 
near  the  latitude  of  27^  degrees. 

On  the  west,  or  Pacific,  side  of  the  peninsula  no  settlement  has  ever 
been  formed  or  attempted  by  a  civilized  nation.  This  coast  offers  many 
excellent  harbors,  but  the  want  of  fresh  water  in  their  vicinity  must  ever 
prove  an  effectual  obstacle  to  their  occupation.  The  principal  harbors 
aie,  the  Bay  of  La  Magdalena,  in  latitude  of  25  degrees,  which  is  separated 
from  the  ocean  by  the  long  island  of  Santa  Margarita,  and  appears  to 
stretch  much  farther  inland  than  had  been  supposed  ;  the  Bay  of  Sebas< 
tian  Vizcaino,  under  the  28th  parallel,  east  of  the  Isle  of  Cedars;  Port 
San  Bartolome,  called  Turtle  Bay  by  the  British  and  American  traders , 
and  Port  San  Quintin,  an  excellent  harbor,  with  fresh  water  near  it,  in  lat- 
itude of  30  degrees  20  minutes,  called  by  the  old  Spanish  navigators  the 
Port  of  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,  which  was  rediscovered  in  1800  by 
Captain  O'Kean,  a  fur-trader  from  Boston.  At  the  distance  of  a  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  from  this  coast,  under  the  parallel  of  28  degrees  45 
minutes,  is  the  small,  rocky  island  of  Guadelupe,  the  existence  of  which, 
after  it  had  been  denied  by  many  navigators,  has  been  ascertained. 

Northward  from  the  peninsula,  the  great  westernmost  chain  of  moun- 
tains continues  nearly  parallel  with  the  Pacific  coast,  to  the  34th  degree 
of  latitude,  under  which  rises  Mount  San  Bernardin,  one  of  the  highest 
peaks  in  California,  about  forty  miles  from  the  ocean.  Farther  north, 
the  coast  turns  more  to  the  west,  and  the  space  between  it  and  the  sum- 
mit line  of  the  mountains  becomes  wider,  so  as  to  exceed  eighty  miles  in 
some  places;  the  intermediate  region  being  traversed  by  lines  of  hills,  or 
smaller  mountains,  connected  with  the  main  range.  The  principal  of 
these  inferior  ridges  extends  from  Mount  San  Bernardin  north-westward 
to  its  termination  on  the  south  side  of  the  entrance  of  the  great  Bay  of 


m- 


QEOORAPHY    OF    CALirORNIA. 


Saa  FranciflOQ,  near  the  38th  degree  of  latitude,  where  it  is  called  the 
San  Bruno  Mountains.  Between  this  range  and  the  coast  run  the 
Santa  Barbara  Mountains,  terminating  in  the  north  at  the  Cape  of 
Pines,  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  Bay  of  Monterey,  near  the  latitude 
of  36^  degrees. 

North  of  the  San  Bruno  M<"-ntains  is  the  Bolbones  ridge,  bordering 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  on  the  east;  and  still  farther  in  the  same 
direction  are  other  and  much  higher  lines  of  highlands,  stretching  from 
the  great  chain,  and  terminating  in  capes  on  the  Pacific. 

The  southernmost  of  these  regions  of  continental  California,  between 
the  Pacific  and  the  great  westernmost  chain  of  mountains,  resembles  the 
adjacent  portion  of  the  peninsula  in  climate ;  being  very  hot  and  dry, 
except  during  a  short  time  in  the  winter.  Farther  north,  the  wet  season 
increases  in  length,  and  about  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  the  rains  are 
almost  constant  from  November  to  April,  the  earth  being  moistened  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  year  by  heavy  dews  and  fogs.  Snow  and  ice  are 
sometimes  seen  in  the  winter  on  the  shores  of  this  bay,  but  never  farther 
south,  except  on  the  mountain-tops.  The  whole  of  California  is,  however, 
subject  to  long  droughts ;  thus  little  or  no  rain  fell  in  any  part  of  the 
country  during  1840  and  1841,  in  which  years  the  inhabitants  were 
reduced  to  the  greatest  distress. 

Among  the  valleys  in  this  part  of  California  are  many  streams,  some 
of  which  discharge  large  quantities  ot  water  in  the  rainy  season ;  but  no 
river  is  known  to  flow  through  the  maritime  ridge  of  mountains  from  the 
interior  to  the  Pacific,  except  perhaps  the  Sacramento,  falling  into  the 
Bay  of  San  Francisco,  though  several  are  thus  represented  on  the  maps. 
The  valleys  thus  watered  afford  abundant  pasturage  for  cattle,  with  which 
they  are  covered  :  California,  however,  contains  but  two  tracts  of  country 
capable  of  supporting  large  numbers  of  inhabitants,  which  are,  that  west 
of  Mount  San  Bernardin,  about  the  34th  degree  of  latitude,  and  that  sur- 
rounding the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  and  the  lower  part  of  the  Sacramento ; 
and  even  in  these,  artificial  irrigation  would  be  indispensable  to  insure 
success  in  agriculture. 

The  earliest  settlements  in  continental  California  were  made  by  the 
Spaniards,  in  1769,  immediately  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  the 
peninsula.  These  establishments  were  at  first  missionary  and  military ; 
the  charge  of  converting  the  natives  being  committed  to  the  Franciscans, 
while  forts  and  garrisons  were  placed  at  various  points,  for  the  occupation 
and  defence  of  the  country.  Towns  were  subsequently  laid  out  and 
settled,  and  farms  were  cultivated,  for  the  most  part  by  natives,  under  the 
direction  of  the  friars  and  officers.  All  these  establishments  declined 
considerably  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  power,  in  consequence  of 
want  of  funds,  and  the  diminution  of  the  authority  of  the  priesthood;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  commerce  of  the  country  has  increased,  and  many 
vessels,  principally  from  the  United  States,  resort  to  its  ports,  bringing 
manufactured  articles,  in  return  for  which  they  receive  hides,  tallow, 
and  other  raw  productions.  In  1835,  the  number  of  missions  was  twenty- 
one,  and  of  the  towns  seven,  to  which  were  attached  about  twenty-three 
thousand  persons,  mostly  of  the  pure  aboriginal  race,  and  many  of  mixed 
breed.  Since  that  time  several  missions  have  been  abandoned,  while  the 
towns  have  increased  in  number  and  population. 

The  most  southern  settlement  on  the  Pacific  side  of  California,  and  the 


GCOGIIAPHV    OF    CALIFl  (INIA. 


n 


tiled  the 

run  the 

Cape  of 

latitude 

tordering 
the  same 
ing  from 

,  between 
nobles  the 
and  dry, 
et  season 
rains  are 
ened  dur- 
id  ice  are 
er  farther 
however, 
irt  of  the 
ints  were 

ims,  some 

n ;  but  no 

I  from  the 

r  into  the 

the  maps. 

irith  which 

of  country 

that  west 

that  sur- 

cramento ; 

to  insure 

de  by  the 
from  the 
military ; 
anciscans, 
>ccupation 
out   and 
under  the 
declined 
-qnence  of 
lood;  but, 
and  many 
bringing 
Bs,  tallow, 
as  twenty- 
enty-three 
of  mixed 
while  the 

ia,  and  the 


'  first  established  by  the  Spaniards,  is  San  Diego,  a  small  town  of  three  haiW 
dred  inhabitants,  situated  about  a  mile  from  the  north  shore  of  a  bay  which 
communicates  with  the  ocean,  in  the  latitude  of  32  degrees  41  minutes. 

.  The  bay  runs  about  ten  miles  eastward  into  the  land,  being  separated  from 
the  ocean,  in  its  whole  length,  by  a  ridge  of  sand,  and  affords  entrance  to 
vessels  of  any  size,  which  may  anchor  safe  from  all  winds  within  a  mile 
of  the  northern  shore.  The  passage  leading  into  it  is  defended  by  for- 
tifications which,  if  properly  armed  and  manned,  might  render  the  harbor 
completely  secure  from  all  attacks  by  sea.  The  mission  stands  about 
seven  miles  from  the  town,  in  a  valley,  through  which  a  torrent  rushes  in 
the  rainy  season.  About  sixty  miles  farther  north-west  is  San  Juan,  a  small 
place  on  an  unsafe  and  inconvenient  harbor,  in  latitude  of  33  degrees  27 
minutes ;  and  romewhat  farther  in  the  same  direction  is  San  Pedro,  on  a 
bay  open  to  the  south-west  winds,  but  sheltered  from  the  north-west.  The 
country  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  these  places  is  sandy  and  barren, 
yielding  little  besides  grass  for  cattle ;  in  the  interior,  however,  on  the 
north-east,  is  the  wide  tract  already  mentioned,  extending  to  Mount  San 
Bernardin,  which  is  said  to  be  of  great  fertility  wherever  it  is  properly 
irrigated,  producing  wheat,  vines,  olives,  and  fruits  of  various  kinds.  In 
this  tract,  at  the  distance  of  thirty  miles  north  from  San  Pedro,  stands 
Pueblo  de  los  Angeles,  the  largest  town  in  California,  containing  a  thou- 
sand inhabitants ;  and  near  it  the  mission  of  San  Gabriel,  the  vineyards 
of  which  formerly  yielded  a  largQ  supply  of  good  wine. 

From  Port  San  Pedro  the  Californian  coast  runs  westward,  more  than  n 
hundred  miles,  to  Cape  Conception,  a  point  situated  in  latitude  of  34  de- 
grees 22  minutes,  as  much  dreaded  by  navigators,  on  account  of  the 
violence  and  frequency  of  the  storms  in  its  vicinity,  as  Cape  Hatteras, 
near  the  same  parallel  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  continent.  Opposite  this 
part  of  the  coast  are  the  Islands  of  Santa  Barbara,  eight  in  number,  of 
which  four,  called  Santa  Cruz^  Santa  Rosa,  Santa  Catalina,  and  Sau 
Clemente,  contain  from  twenty  to  fifty  square  miles  of  surface  each ;  the 
others  being  mere  rocks.  Between  the  Island  of  Santa  Cruz  and  the 
main  land  on  the  north  is  the  channel  of  Santa  Barbara,  on  the  north 
side  of  which,  the  town,  fort,  and  mission  of  Santa  Barbara  are  situated, 
in  a  sandy  plain,  stretching  from  the  coast  to  the  Santa  Barbara  range  of 
mountains.  The  harbor  is  an  open  roadstead,  sheltered  from  the  north 
and  west  winds,  which  there  prevail  from  November  to  March,  but 
affording  no  protection  against  the  south-westerly  storms,  which  are  so  vio- 
lent and  frequent  during  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

At  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  north  of  Cape  Conception,  the  Santa 
Barbara  Mountains  end,  as  already  said,  in  a  point  called  the  Cape  of 
Pines,  (Punta  de  Pinos,)  in  latitude  of  36  degrees  37  minutes ;  between 
which  and  another  point,  twenty-four  miles  farther  north,  called  Cape 
New  Year,  (Punta  de  Nuevo  Aiio,)  is  included  the  extensive  Bay  of  Mon- 
terey. This  bay  lies  in  an  indentation  of  the  coast,  almost  semi-circular ; 
its  southernmost  part  is,  however,  separated  from  the  ocean  by  the  point 
of  land  ending  at  the  Cape  of  Pines,  and  thus  forms  a  cove,  near  the 
southernmost  part  of  which  stands  the  town  of  Monterey,  or  San  Carlos 
de  Monterey,  the  seat  of  government  of  California.  The  town  is  a 
wretched  collection  of  mud-built  houses,  containing  about  two  hundred 
inhabitants;  the  castle,  as  it  is  termed,  and  the  fort  on  the  Cape  of  Pines, 
are  merely  mud  walls,  behind  which  are  a  few  old  guns,  all  ineifective. 
8 


18 


CMIOORAPHT    OF    CALlFURNIA. 


The  mitaion,  lituMed  three  miles  south  of  the  town,  in  a  valley,  through 
which  runs  the  torrent  of  San  Carmelo,  embraces  extensive  buildings, 
but  is  in  a  ruinous  state,  and  nearly  deserted. 

The  surrounding  country  possesses  a  good  soil  and  a  delightful  cli- 
nate,  and  might  be  reudered  very  productive  by  irrigation,  for  which  two 
•mall  rivers,  flowing  from  the  mountains,  offer  abundant  supplies  of  water 
at  ail  times;  it,  however,  remains  uncultivated,  and  scarcely  any  article  of 
food  is  obtained  from  it,  except  the  meat  of  the  cattle  covering  the  valleys. 
From  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay,  a  sandy  plain  extends  eastward  to  the 
foot  of  the  San  Bruno  Mountains,  traversed  by  a  river  called  the  Buena- 
ventura, which  is  erroneously  represented,  on  some  maps,  as  flowing 
through  the  great  ridge  from  the  interior  countries.  North  of  the  bay,  at 
a  little  distance  from  Cape  New  Year,  is  the  mission  of  Santa  Cruz,  to 
which  vessels  commonly  resort  for  water  and  provisions;  and  farther  in 
the  interior,  beyond  the  San  Bruno  range,  is  the  town  of  Branciforte,  one 
of  the  largest  in  California. 

The  next  remarkable  headland  on  the  coast  north  of  the  Bay  of  Mon- 
terey is  that  cnlled  Puntade  los  Reyes,  or  the  Cape  of  Kings,  composed  of 
high  white  cliffs,  projecting  into  the  Piiciflc,  under  the  38th  degree  of  lat- 
itude ;  when  seen  from  the  north  or  the  south,  it  presents  the  appearance 
of  an  island,  being  connected  with  the  main  land  on  the  east  by  low 
ground.  A  few  miles  south  of  this  point  are  two  clusters  of  rocky  islets, 
called  Farellones,  immediately  east  of  which, 

The  Bay  of  San  Francisco  joins  the  Pacific  by  a  passage  or  channel 
two  miles  wide,  and  three  in  length,  under  the  parallel  of  37  degrees 
65  minutes,  neirly  in  the  same  latitude  with  the  entrance  of  Chesapeake 
Bay,  end  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  From  this  passage  the  bay  extends 
northward  and  southward,  surrounded  by  ranges  of  high  hills,  and  con- 
taining some  of  the  most  convenient,  beautiful,  and  secure  harbors,  on 
the  Pacific,  and,  indeed,  in  the  world.     , 

The  southern  branch  ofthe  bay  extends  south-eastward  about  thirty  miles, 
terminating  in  thiit  direction  in  a  number  of  small  arms,  receiving  streams 
from  the  hills.  Its  average  breadth  is  about  twelve  miles  ;  and  it  may  be 
considered  as  occupying  the  bottom,  or  northern  extremity  of  a  long 
valley,  included  betwe<  -i  the  San  Bruno  Mountains  on  the  west  and  the 
Bolbones  ridge  on  thf  east.  Farther  up  this  valley,  in  the  south,  are 
the  large  Lakes  of  Tule,  which  communicate  with  each  other  and  with 
the  bay  during  the  rainy  season,  and  are  said  to  be  surrounded  by  a 
delightful  country,  containing  a  numerous  population  of  natives. 

The  northern  branch  ofthe  bay  becomes  contracted,  near  the  entrance, 
into  a  strait,  beyond  which  is  a  basin,  ten  miles  in  diameter,  called  the 
B :>y  of*  San  Pablo.  A  second  passage,  called  the  Strait  of  Carquines, 
connects  this  basin  with  another,  containing  many  islands,  into  which 
empty  the  Sacramento,  and  one  or  two  smaller  streams.  The  Sacramento 
rises  among  the  mountains  of  the  great  westernmost  chain,  near  the  41st 
degree  of  latitude,  and  is  said  to  receive  a  branch  flowing  through  those 
moimtains  from  the  east.  Thence  it  flows,  in  a  very  tortuous  course,  about 
three  hundred  miles,  southward,  to  its  entrance  in  the  Bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco, being  navigable  by  small  vessels  to  the  distance  of  more-than  one 
hundred  miles  from  the  bay.  The  lower  part  of  the  country  traversed  by 
it  is  an  alluvial  plain,  parts  of  which  are  prairies,  while  others  are  cor- 
«red  with  forests  of  noble  trees,  principally  oaks,  and  the  whole  appears  to 


OEOOBAPHT  or  CALirOItinA. 


19 


through 
lildings, 

tful  cH- 
lich  two 
)f  water 
rtide  of 

valleys, 
d  to  the 
!  Buena- 

flowing 
s  bay,  at 
Druz,  to 
irther  in 
Mte,  one 

of  Mon- 
posed  of 
ee  of  lat- 
pearance 
t  by  low 
ky  islets, 

channel 
7  degrees 
lesapeake 
V  extends 

and  con- 

rbors,  on 

rty  miles, 

streams 

may  be 

a  long 

and  the 

louih,  are 

and  with 

ed  by  a 

39. 

entrance, 
jailed  the 
larquincs, 
ito  which 
loramento 

the  4 1  St 
ugh  those 
•se,  about 
•an  Fran- 
•than  one 
iversed  by 

are  cov- 
ippears  to  % 


be  well  adapted  for  the  support  of  a  large  population.  The  ether  riTers 
falling  into  this  basin  are  the  San  Joaquin  from  the  south,  and  the  Jesus 
Maria  from  the  north,  both  inconsiderable  streams. 

In  the  country  around  this  bay,  settlements  and  cultiTation  have  ad> 
vanced  more  than  in  any  other  part  of  California.  Near  its  southern  e»> 
tremity  are  the  town  of  San  Jose  and  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara,  in  a 
delightful  region,  producing  grains  and  fruits  of  various  kinds  in  pro* 
fusion,  and  affording  pasture  to  numerous  herds  of  cattle.  On  the 
northern  branch  are  the  missions  of  San  Raefael,  and  San  Francisco 
Solano ;  and  many  small  establishments  for  farming  or  grazing  have  been 
formed  at  other  points.  The  town,  mission,  and  fort  of  San  Francisco, 
are  all  situated  near  the  south  side  of  the  passage  connecting  the  bay 
with  the  Pacific,  on  a  plain  at  the  termination  of  the  San  Bruno  Moun- 
tains. The  principal  anchorage  for  vessels  is  a  cove  a  few  miles  south 
of  the  entrance-passage,  between  the  western  shore  of  the  bay  and  the 
Island  of  Yerba  Buena,  where  a  settlement  has  been  commenced  by  the 
English  and  Americans,  who  conduct  nearly  all  the  trade  of  that  part 
of  California. 

Near  Cape  de  los  Reyes,  on  the  north,  is  the  entrance  of  the  Bay  of 
Bodega,  which  thence  extends  northward  and  southward,  a  few  miles  in 
each  direction.  On  the  shore  of  the  northern  branch,  the  Russians,  in 
1812,  formed  an  establishment,  chiefly  with  the  view  of  supplying  their 
settlements  farther  north  with  grain  and  meat;  and  some  years  at\ero 
wards,  another,  called  Ross,  was  made  by  the  same  nation,  on  the  coast 
of  the  Pacific,  thirty  miles  north  of  Bodega,  in  latitude  of  38  degrees  33 
minutes,  near  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream,  named  by  them  the  Slavinka 
Ross.  In  1838,  each  place  contained  a  stockaded  fort,  enclosing  magar 
zines  and  dwellings  for  the  ofiicers,  and  surrounded  by  other  buildings, 
among  which  were  mills,  shops  for  smiths  and  carpenters,  and  stables  for 
cattle ;  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bodega,  farms  were  worked,  from 
which  several  thousand  bushels  of  wheat,  besides  pease,  and  other 
vegetables,  butter,  and  cheese,  were  annually  sent  to  the  trading  posts 
in  the  north.  These  establishments  proved  constant  sources  of  annoy- 
ance to  the  Spaniards,  and  to  their  Mexican  successors,  who  did  not, 
however,  venture  to  attempt  to  remove  them  by  force;  in  1841,  they 
were  abandoned  by  the  Russians,  who  transferred  all  their  interests  in 
that  quarter  to  a  company  or  party  composed  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  others,  equally  determined  to  resist  the  authority  of  Mexico. 

Cape  Mendocino,  which  appears  to  be  the  natural  point  of  junction  of 
the  coasts  of  California  and  Oregon,  is  the  most  elevated  land  near  the 
Pacific  in  that  quarter.  It  consists  of  two  high  promontories,  situated 
aliout  ten  miles  ap:*rt,  of  which  the  southern  and  the  most  elevated  is 
situated  under  the  parallel  of  40  degrees  19  minutes,  nearly  in  the  same 
latitude  with  Sandy  Hook,  at  the  entrance  of  the  bay  of  New  York ; 
and  is  believed  to  be  the  western  termination  of  the  great  chain  of  the 
Snowy  Mountains,  which  forms  the  southern  barrier  of  the  regions 
drained  by  the  Columbia.  This  cape  was  formerly  much  dreaded  by 
the  Spanish  navigators,  on  account  of  the  storms  usually  prevailing  in 
its  vicinity ;  but,  those  fears  having  passed  away,  the  cape  has  lost  much 
of  the  respect  with  which  it  was  regarded  by  mariners. 

The  interior  of  California,  east  of  the  mountains  which  border  the 
coast,  is  imperfectly  known.     According  to  the  vague  reports  of  the 


flO 


eBOGRAPHT    or    CALIFORNIA. 


Catholic  minionaries  and  American  fur-traders,  confirmed  by  the  sarveys 
of  various  portions  recently  made  by  Captain  Fremont,  the  vast  territory, 
included  between  the  vicinity  of  the  Pacific  and  the  valley  of  the  Colorado, 
ii  a  waste  of  lofty  snow-clad  mountains,  interspersed  with  plains  of  sand, 
marshes,  and  salt-lakes,  and  subjected  to  a  heat  from  the  sun,  as  intense 
as  that  experienced  in  the  central  regions  of  Australia.  The  Colorado, 
the  only  outlet  of  the  waters  of  this  territory,  has  its  farthermost  sources 
among  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  the  42d  degree  of  latitude,  where  its 
main  trunk  is  called  by  the  Indians  the  Sids-kadee,  and  by  the  Americans 
Green  River :  thence  it  flows  south-westward,  through  the  mountains, 
where  its  course  is  broken  by  numerous  ledges  of  rock,  producing  rapids 
and  falls ;  after  which  it  receives  the  Navajo,  the  Jaquesila,  the  Giln,  and 
other  streams  from  the  east,  and  the  Uintah  and  Virgen  from  the  west, 
and  enters  the  Gulf  of  California,  at  its  northern  extremity,  in  latitude  of 
32  degrees.  The  country  near  the  mouth  is  flat,  and  is  overflowed  during 
the  rainy  season,  when  the  quantity  of  water  discharged  is  very  great ; 
and  high  embankments  are  thus  made,  on  each  side,  similar  to  those  of 
the  Lower  Mississippi.  How  far  it  may  be  ascended  by  vessels  from  the 
gulf,  is  not  known  :  from  some  accounts,  it  seems  to  be  navigable  to  the 
distance  of  at  least  three  hundred  miles ;  but,  more  probably,  obstacles 
are  found  lower  down. 

The  Utah  Lake,  or  Lake  Timpanogos  of  the  Spaniards,  near  the  Colo- 
rado, on  the  west,  between  the  40th  and  the  42d  parallels  of  latitude,  is 
the  largest  collection  of  water  yet  discovered  in  that  part  of  America. 
According  to  the  observations  of  Fremont,  who  surveyed  the  greater  part 
of  it  in  1843,  it  is  irregular  in  outline,  about  eighty  miles  long  by  forty 
wide,  and  contains  several  rocky  islands.  It  is  entirely  surrounded  by 
mountains,  and  is  principally  supplied  by  the  Bear  River  entering  it  on 
the  north-east :  it  has  no  outlet,  and  its  waters  are  saturated  with  salt. 
Near  the  northernmost  part  of  the  Bear  River,  is  an  extensive  plain  of 
white  calcareous  earth,  on  the  borders  of  which  are  several  springs,  called 
the  Soda  or  Beer  Springs,  from  the  quantity  of  carbonic  acid  gas  with 
which  their  waters  are  charged. 

Having  thus  presented  the  most  remarkable  features  of  California, 
those  of  Oregon,  or  the  country  of  the  Columbia  River,  next  adjoining 
on  the  north,  will  be  described. 


v-^    -;,  i^  Ui  tt*  I-    !■  '  .:•>  i-s  :  ■■       ' 


1   ...  l»:  J 


,,  ,      -  .   -.  ■     _>■■■■:       >' 
.'     ;-(i'^>i.i    'nl'. 


T#W«aWV   yf^    t«^*ll««»t»*i 


OREGON. 


..Kli 


■'4^' 


Oregon  has  been  hitherto  considered  as  embracing  the  whole  division 
of  America  drained  by  the  Columbia  River,  together  with  the  territories 
between  the  valley  of  that  stream  and  the  Pacific,  and  the  islands  ad' 
jacent. 

By  the  treaty  concluded  at  Washington,  on  the  15th  of  June,  1846, 
a  line  drawn  along  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  thence  southward,  through  the  middle  of 
the  strait,  to  the  Pacific,  has  been  established  as  the  line  of  separation, 
between  the  territories  of  the  United  States  on  the  south,  and  those  of 
Great  Britain  on  the  north ;  and  the  name  of  Oregon  will  therefore  prob- 
ably, in  future,  be  confined  to  the  portion  of  the  continent  between  the 
49th  and  the  42d  parallels  of  latitude.  It  will,  however,  be  more  con- 
venient at  present  to  consider  these  territories  merely  according  to  their 
natural  divisions,  beginning  with 


THE  COUNTRY  OF  THE  COLUMBIA. 

This  country  extends,  on  the  Pacific,  from  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Mendo- 
cino, five  hundred  ailes,  to  Cape  Flattery,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of 
Fuca ;  from  the  :iastern  extremity  of  which  strait,  distant  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  ocean,  a  range  of  mountains  stretches  north-eastward,  about 
four  hundred  miles,  to  tho  Rocky  Mountains,  near  the  54th  degree  of  lati- 
tude, separating  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  from  those  of  Frazer's  River. 
The  Rocky  Mountains  form  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Columbia  regions, 
for  about  twelve  hundred  miles,  from  the  54th  to  the  42d  parallels ;  and 
those  regions  are  separated  from  Califurnia,  on  the  south,  by  the  Snowy 
Mountains,  which  appear  to  extend  continuously  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, nearly  in  the  course  of  the  41st  parallel,  about  seven  hundred  miles 
westward,  to  the  vicinity  of  the  PaciBc.  It  is  not  easy  to  define  these 
boundaries  more  exactly,  as  the  directions  of  the  mountain  chains  are  not 
accr.rately  ascertained.  The  territory  included  within  these  limits,  and 
drfiined  almost  entirely  by  the  Columbia,  is.  not  less  than  four  hundred 
thousand  square  miles  in  superficial  extent ;  which  is  more  than  double  that 
of  France,  and  nearly  half  that  of  all  the  states  of  the  Federal  Union.  Its 
southernmost  points  are  in  the  same  latitudes  with  Boston  and  with  Flor- 
ence ;  while  its  northernmost  correspond  with  the  northern  extremities  of 
Newfbundland,  and  with  the  southern  shores  of  the  Baltic  Sea. 

The  Pacific  coast  of  this  territory  extends,  in  a  line  nearly  due  north, 
from  Cape  Mendocino  to  Cape  Flattery  ;  in  which  whole  distance  there 
is  but  one  harbor,  or  place  of  refuge  for  ships,  namely,  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River,  near  the  46th  degree  of  latitude,  and  that  harbor  is  very 
frequently  inaccessible. 

The  shores  south  of  the  Columbia  are  most  perilous  to  navigators  at  all 
times ;  as  they  are  every  where  steep  and  rocky,  and  bordered  by  shoals 


99 


GBOORAPHT  OF  ORBOON. 


and  reefs,  on  which  the  warei  of  the  Pacific  are  driven  with  fury  by  the 
prevailing  north-west  winds.  Vessels  not  drawing  more  than  eight  feet 
may,  however,  enter  the  Umqua,  a  small  stream  falling  into  the  Pacific, 
in  the  latitude  of  42  degrees  51  minutes,  immediately  north  of  a  remark- 
able promontory  called  Cape  Orford,  probably  the  Cape  Blanco  of  the  old 
Spanish  navigators.  Small  vessels  may  also  find  anchornge  in  a  cove  or 
recess  of  the  coast,  naraed  by  the  Spaniards  Port  Trinidad,  under  the 
parallel  of  41  degrees  3  minutes,  about  forty  miles  north  of  Cape  Mendo- 
cino, and  in  some  other  spots ;  but  no  place  on  this  coast  can  be  said  to 
offer  protection  to  vessels  against  winds  or  waves. 

North  of  the  Columbia,  the  coast  is  less  beset  by  dangers;  and  it  offers, 
immediately  under  the  47th  parallel,  one  good  port,  for  small  vessels, 
which  was  discovered  in  May,  1792,  by  Captain  Gray,  of  Boston,  and 
named  by  him  Bulfincb's  Harbor,  though  it  is  more  commonly  called 
Gray's  Harbor,  and  is  frequently  represented  on  English  maps  as  Whid- 
bey's  Bay.  The  only  other  spot  worthy  of  particular  notice  on  this  part 
of  the  coast  is  Destruction  Island,  near  the  continent,  in  latitude  of  47^ 
degrees,  so  called  by  the  captain  of  an  Austrian  trading  ship  in  1787, 
in  consequence  of  the  murder  of  some  of  his  men  by  the  natives  of 
the  adjacent  country. 

The  Strait  of  Fuca  is  an  arm  of  the  sea  separating  a  great  island  from 
the  continent  on  the  south  and  east,  to  which  much  interest  was  for  some 
time  attached,  from  the  supposition  that  it  might  be  a  channel  connecting 
the  Atlantic  with  the  Pacific  north  of  America.  It  extends  from  the 
ocean  eastward  about  one  hundred  miles,  varying  in  breadth  from  ten  to 
thirty  miles,  between  the  48th  and  the  49th  parallels  of  latitude;  thence 
it  turns  to  the  north-west,  in  which  direction  it  runs,  first  expanding  into 
a  long,  wide  bay,  and  then  contracting  into  narrow  and  intricate  passages 
among  islands,  three  hundred  miles  farther,  to  its  reunion  with  the  Pacific, 
under  the  51st  parallel.  From  its  south-eastern  extremity,  a  great  gulf, 
called  Admiralty  Inlet,  stretches  southward  into  the  continent  more  than 
one  hundred  miles,  dividing  into  many  branches,  of  which  the  principal 
are  Hood's  Canal,  on  the  west,  and  Pujyet's  Sound,  the  southernmost, 
extending  nearly  to  the  47th  parallel.  This  inlet  possesses  many  excel- 
lent harbors;  and  the  country  adjacent,  being  delightful  and  productive, 
will,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe,  in  time  become  valuable,  agricul- 
turally, as  well  as  commercially.  There  are  many  other  harbors  on  the 
Strait  of  Fuca,  of  which  the  principal  are  Port  Discovery,  near  the 
entrance  of  Admiralty  Inlet,  said  by  Vancouver  to  be  one  of  the  best  in 
the  Pacific,  and  Poverty  Cove,  called  Port  Nuiiez  Gaona  by  the  Span- 
iards, situated  a  few  miles  east  of  Cape  Flattery.  That  cape,  so  named 
by  Cook,  is  a  conspicuous  promontory  in  the  latitude  of  48  degrees  27 
minutes,  near  which  is  a  large  rock,  called  Tatooche's  Island,  united  to  the 
promontory  by  a  rocky  ledge,  at  times  partially  covered  by  water.  The 
shore  between  the  cape  and  Admiralty  Inlet  is  composed  of  sandy  cliffs 
overhanging  a  beach  of  sand  and  stones ;  from  it  the  land  gradually  rises 
to  a  chain  of  mountains,  stretching  southwardly  along  the  Pacific  to  the 
vicinity  of  the  Columbia,  the  highest  point  of  which  received,  ia  1788,  the 
name  of  Mount  Olympus. 

The  interior  of  this  part  of  America  is,  as  already  said,  traversed  by 
many  great  ranges  of  mountains,  running  generally  almost  parallel  with 
each  other,  and  with  the  coast :  before  describing  them,  however,  it  will 


ac(NiR4rHY  or  oreooh. 


be  oonTenient  to  prasent  a  general  view  of  the  Columbia  Rirer  and  ica 
branches. 

The  Columbia  enters  the  Pacific  Ocean  between  two  points  of  land, 
seven  miiea  apart  —  Cape  Diaappointment  on  the  north,  and  Cape  Adams 
on  the  south,  of  which  the  former  is  in  the  latitude  of  40  degrees  19 
minutes,  (corresponding  nearly  with  Quebec,  in  Canada,  and  Geneva,  iu 
Switzerland,)  and  in  longitude  of  47  degrees  west  from  Washington,  or 
124  degrees  west  from  Greenwich.  The  main  river  is  formed,  at  the 
distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth,  by  the  union  of 
two  large  streams,  one  from  the  north,  which  is  usually  considered  as  the 

Srincipnl  branch,  and  the  other,  called  the  Sahaptin,  or  Snake,  or  Lewis's 
Liver,  from  the  south-east.  These  two  great  confluents  receive,  in  their 
course,  many  other  streams,  and  they  thus  collect  together  all  the  waters 
flowing  from  the  western  sides  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  between  the  42d 
and  the  54th  parallels  of  latitude. 

The  northern  branch  of  the  Columbia  rises  in  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
near  the  53d  degree  of  latitude.  One  of  its  head-waters,  the  Canoe 
River,  runs  from  a  small  lake,  situated  in  a  remarkable  cleft  of  the  great 
chain,  called  the  Punch  Bowl,  at  the  distance  of  only  a  few  feet  from 
another  lake,  whence  flows  the  westernmost  stream  of  the  Athabasca 
River,  a  tributary  to  the  Mackenzie,  emptying  into  the  Arctic  Sea.  This 
cleft  appears  to  be  the  only  practicable  pass  in  the  mountains  north  of  the 
49th  degree  of  latitude,  and  through  it  is  conducted  all  the  trade  of 
British  subjects  between  the  territories  on  either  side  of  the  ridge.  It  is 
described,  by  those  who  have  visited  it,  as  presenting  scenes  of  the  most 
terrific  grandeur,  being  overhung  by  the  highest  peaks  in  the  dividing 
range,  of  which  one,  called  Mount  Brown,  is  not  less  than  sixteen  thousand 
feet,  and  another,  Mount  Hooker,  exceeds  fifteen  thousand  feet,  above  the 
ocean  level. 

At  a  place  called  Boat  Encampment,  near  the  52d  degree  of  latitude, 
Canoe  River  joins  two  other  streams,  the  one  from  the  north,  the  other, 
the  largest  of  the  three,  running  along  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
from  the  south.  The  river  thus  formed,  considered  as  the  main  Colum- 
bia, takes  its  coutse  nearly  due  south,  through  defiles,  between  lofty 
mountains,  being  generally  a  third  of  a  mile  in  width,  but,  in  some 
places,  spreading  out  into  broad  lakes,for  about  three  hundred  miles,  tothe 
latitude  of  48J  degrees,  where  it  receives  the  Flatbow  or  M'Gillivray's 
River,  a  large  branch,  flowing,  also,  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the 
east.  A  little  farther  south,  the  northern  branch  unites  with  the  Clarke 
or  Flathead  River  —  scarcely  inferior,  in  the  quantity  of  water  supplied,  to 
the  other.  The  sources  of  the  Clarke  are  situated  in  the  dividing  range, 
near  those  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Yellowstone,  whence  it  runs  north- 
ward, along  the  base  of  the  mountains,  and  then  westward,  forming,  under 
the  48th  parallel,  an  extensive  sheet  of  water,  called  the  Kullerspelm  Lake, 
surrounded  by  rich  tracts  of  land,  and  lofty  mountains,  covered  with  noble 
trees;  from  this  lake  the  river  issues,  a  large  and  rapid  stream,  and,  after 
running  about  seventy  miles  westward,  it  falls  into  the  north  branch  of 
the  Columbia,  over  a  ledge  of  rocks.  From  the  point  of  union  of  these 
two  rivers,  the  Columbia  turns  towards  the  west,  and  rushes  through  a 
ridge  of  mountains,  where  it  forms  a  cataract  called  the  Chaudiere  or 
Kettle  Falls.  Continuing  in  the  same  direction  eighty  miles,  between  the 
48tb  and  the  49th  parallels,  it  receives,  in  succession,  the  Spokan  from 


OEOORAPHY   or    ORBOON. 


the  MMith,  and  the  Okinagan  from  the  north,  and,  from  the  mouth  of  th« 
latter,  it  pursues  a  southward  course  for  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  to 
its  junction  with  tlie  great  southern  branch,  near  the  47th  degree  of 
latitude. 

Of  the  Sahaptin,  or  Lewis,  or  Snake  River,  the  great  southern  branch 
of  the  Columbia,  the  farthermost  sources  are  situated  in  the  deep  valleys 
or  holes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  the  42d  degree  of  latitude,  within 
short  distances  of  those  of  the  Yellowstone,  the  Platte,  and  the  Colorado. 
The  most  eastern  of  these  liead-waters,  considered  as  the  main  river, 
issues  from  Pierre's  Hole,  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  a  parallel 
range  called  the  Tetons,  from  three  remarkable  peaks,  resembling  teats, 
which  rise  to  a  great  height  above  the  others.  Running  westward,  this 
stream  unites  successively  with  Henry's  Fork  from  the  north,  and  the 
Portneuf  from  the  south.  Some  distance  below  its  iunction  with  the 
latter,  the  Lewis  enters  the  defile  between  the  Blue  Mountains  on  the 
west,  and  another  rocky  chain,  called  the  Salmon  River  Mountains,  on  the 
east,  and  takes  its  course  north-westward,  for  about  six  hundred  miles,  to 
its  union  with  the  northern  branch,  receiving  many  large  streams  from 
each  nide.  The  principal  of  these  influent  streams  are  the  M&lade  or 
Sickly  River,  the  Boise  or  Reed's  River,  the  Salmon  River,  and  the 
Koosicooskee,  from  the  east,  and  the  Malheur  and  Powder  River,  from  the 
Blue  Mountains,  on  the  west. 

Of  these  two  great  branches  of  the  Columbia,  and  the  streams  which 
fall  into  them,  scarcely  any  portion  is  navigable  by  the  smallest  vessels  for 
more  than  thirty  or  forty  miles  continuously.  "The  northern  branch  is 
much  used  by  the  British  traders  for  the  conveyance  of  their  furs  and 
merchandise,  by  means  of  light  canoes,  which,  as  well  as  their  cargoes, 
are  carried  by  the  boatmen  around  the  falls  and  rapiJs  so  frequently  inter- 
rupting their  voyage.  The  Lewis  River  and  its  streams  offer  few  ad- 
vantages in  this  way ;  as  they  nearly  all  rush,  in  their  whole  course,  through 
depp  and  narrow  chasms,  between  perpendicular  rocks,  against  which  a 
boat  would  be  momentarily  in  danger  of  being  dashed  by  the  current. 

From  the  point  of  junction  of  these  two  great  branches,  the  course  of 
the  Columbia  is  generally  westward  to  the  ocean.  A  little  below  that 
point,  it  receives  the  Walla-Walla,  and  then,  in  succession,  the  Umatalla, 
John  Day's  River,  and  the  Chutes  or  Falls  River,  all  flowing  from  the 
south,  and  some  others,  of  less  size,  from  the  north.  Near  the  mouth  of 
the  Falls  River,  eighty  milts  below  the  Walla-Walla,  are  situated  the 
Falls,  or  Chutes,  as  they  are  called,  of  the  Columbia,  where  the  great 
stream  enters  a  gap  in  the  Far-West  range  of  mountains.  Four  miles 
farther  down  are  the  Dalles,  or  rapids  formed  by  the  passage  of  the 
waters  between  vast  masses  of  rock ;  and  thirty  miles  below  these  are  the 
Cascades,  a  series  of  falls  and  rapids  extending  more  than  half  a  mile, 
at  the  foot  of  which  the  tides  are  observable  at  the  distance  of  a  hundred 
and  twenty  miles  from  the  Pacific. 

A  few  miles  below  the  Cascades,  a  large  river,  called  the  Willamet, 
(the  Multonomah  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,)  enters  the  Colvmbia  from  the 
south,  by  two  branches,  between  which  is  an  extensive  island,  named 
Wappatoo  Island,  from  an  edible  root,  so  called,  found  growing,  in  abun- 
dance upon  it.  "Twenty-five  miles  from  the  mouth  of  this  river  are  its 
falls,  where  all  its  waters  are  precipitated  over  a  ledge  of  rocks  more 
than  forty  feet  in  height.     Beyond  this  point,  the  Willamet  has  been 


QBOaRAPHY  or  ORBOON. 


•^ 


of  the 
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branch 
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within 
tlorado. 
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ms  from 
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traced  about  two  hundred  miles,  in  a  tortuous  course,  through  b  narrow 
but  generally  fertile  valley,  to  its  sources  in  the  Far-West  chain  of 
mountains,  near  the  43d  degree  of  latitude.  In  this  valley  were  formed 
the  earliest  agricultural  settlements  by  citizens  of  the  United  States  weet 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains;  and,  from  all  accounts,  it  appears  to  present 

Sreater  advantages  of  soil  and  climate  than  any  other  part  of  the  country 
rained  by  the  Columbia. 

Descending  the  Columbia  forty  miles  from  the  lower  mauth  of  the  Wil- 
lamet,  we  find  a  small  stream,  called  the  Cowelitz,  entering  it  from  the 
north ;  and,  thirty  miles  lower  down,  the  great  river,  whicn  is  nowhere 
above  more  than  a  mile  wide,  expands  to  the  breadth  of  four,  and,  in 
some  places^  of  seven,  miles,  before  mingling  its  waters  with  those  of  the 
Pacific ;  it,  however,  preserves  its  character  as  a  river,  being  rapid  in  iti 
current,  and  perfectly  fresh  and  potable,  to  within  a  league  of  the  ocean, 
except  during  very  dry  seasons  and  the  prevalence  of  violent  westerly 
winds. 

The  Columbia  may  generally  be  ascended,  by  ships  of  three  or  four 
hundred  tons,  nearly  to  the  foot  of  its  cascades :  the  navigation,  especially 
of  the  lower  part,  is,  however,  at  all  times,  difficult  and  dangerous,  in 
consequence  of  the  number  and  the  variability  of  the  shoals ;  and  it  is 
only  in  fine  weather  that  vessels  can  with  safety  enter  or  leave  its  mouth, 
which  is  guarded  by  a  line  of  breakers,  extending  across  from  each  of  the 
capes. 

The  other  rivers  which  drain  the  parts  of  this  territory  near  the  see 
are  numerous,  but  generally  small,  the  majority  being  merely  brooks, 
which  disappear  during  he  dry  season.  The  Umqua,  near  the  43d  degree 
of  latitude,  and  the  Che^elis,  which  empties  into  Bulfinch's  Harbor,  are 
the  principal  of  those  streams ;  but  neither  of  them  offers  any  facilities  for 
commercial  communication. 

Of  the  chains  of  mountains  traversing  Oregon  from  north  to  south, 
the  most  remarkable  is  the  westernmost,  for  which  the  name  of  Far- West 
Mountains  has  been  here  proposed,  running  northward  from  California 
at  the  distance  of  eighty  or  a  hundred  miles  from  the  Pacific  coast. 
Under  the  49th  parallel,  where  the  base  of  the  chain  is  washed  by  the 
easternmost  waters  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  it  is  divided  into  three 
distinct  ridges,  one  of  which  stretches  north-east,  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, separating  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  from  those  of  Fraser's 
River ;  another  overhangs  the  sea-coast  north-westward ;  and  the  islands  of 
the  North- West  Archipelago,  which  mask  the  shore  of  the  continent  from  the 
49th  to  the  58th  parallels,  may  be  considered  as  a  third  ridge,  extending 
through  the  sea.  The  principal  peaks  of  this  chain,  in  Oregon,  are  Mount 
Baker,  near  the  49th  parallel,  Mount  Rainier,  under  the  47th,  and  Mount 
St.  Helen's,  the  highest  of  the  range,  which  rises,-probably,  not  less  than 
fifteen  thousand  feet  above  the  ocean  level,  due  east  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia.  South  of  that  river  are  Mount  Hood,  near  the  45th  parallel ; 
Mount  Jefferson,  so  named  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  under  the  44th ;  Mount 
Shasty,  near  the  43d ;  and  Mount  Jackson,  a  stupendous  pinnacle,  in  the 
latitude  of  41  degrees  40  minutes,  which  has  been  also  called  Mount  Pitt 
by  the  British  traders.  Some  of  these  peaks  are  visible  from  the  ocean, 
particularly  Mount  St.  Helen's,  which  serves  as  a  mark  for  vessels  entering 
the  Columbia ;  when  seen  from  the  highlands  farther  east,  they  present 
one  of  the  grandest  ^spectacles  in  nature.  This  chain  is  entirely  of  vol- 
4 


OEooMAi'uy  or  oheoun. 


oanio  formation;  and  it  must  contain  itctive  volcanoes,  as  there  are  no 
other  means  of  accounting  for  the  showers  of  ashes  which  occasionally 
fall  in  many  parts  of  Oregon,  particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  St. 
Helen's.     The  latest  of  these  supposed  eruptions  took  place  in  1834. 

The  country  between  the  PaciHc  coast  and  this  westernmost  chain 
consists,  like  the  part  of  California  similarly  situated,  of  ranges  of  lower 
mountains,  separated  by  narrow  vulleys,  generally  running  parallel  to  the 
great  chain,  and  to  the  coast.  lis  superhcial  extent  mny  be  estimated  at 
about  forty-five  thousand  square  miles,*  of  which  a  smail  proportion  only, 
not  exceeding  an  eighth,  is  tit  for  cultivation.  The  climate,  like  that  of 
California,  is  warm  and  dry  in  summer ;  very  little  rain  falling  between 
April  and  November,  thouirh  it  is  violent,  and  almost  constant,  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  Unow  is  rarely  seen  in  the  valleys,  in  which  the 
ground  frequently  continues  soft  and  unfrozen  throughout  the  winter. 
The  soil,  in  some  of  these  valleys,  is  s.iid  to  be  excellent  for  wheat,  rye, 
oats,  peas,  potatoes,  and  apples ;  Hftccn  bushels  of  wheat  being  sometimes 
yielded  by  a  single  acre.  Indian  corn,  which  requires  both  heat  and 
moisture,  does  not  succeed  in  any  part  of  Oregon.  Hogs  live  and  muU 
tiply  in  the  woods,  where  an  abundance  of  acorns  is  to  be  found ;  th* 
cattle  also  increase,  and  it  is  not  generally  necessary  for  them  to  be 
housed  or  fed  in  the  winter.  The  hilli  and  the  flanks  of  the  great  moun> 
tains  are  covered  with  timber,  which  grows  to  an  immense  size.  A  fir, 
near  Astoria,  iPt  asured  forty-six  feet  in  circumference  at  ten  feet  from  the 
earth ;  the  length  of  its  trunk,  before  giving  otf  a  branch,  was  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-three  feet,  and  its  whole  height  not  less  than  three  hundred 
feet.  Another  tree,  of  the  same  species,  on  the  banks  of  the  Umqua 
River,  is  fifty-seven  feet  in  girth  of  trunk,  and  two  hundred  and  sixteen 
feet  in  length  below  its  branches.  *'  Prime  sound  pines,"  says  Cox, 
"  from  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  height,  and  from 
twenty  to  forty  feet  in  circumference,  are  by  no  means  uncommon."  The 
land  on  which  these  large  trees  grow  is  good;  but  the  labor  of  clearing 
it  would  be  such  as  to  prevent  any  one  from  undertaking  the  task,  until 
all  the  other  spots,  capable  of  cultivation,  should  have  been  occupied. 
From  the  peculiarities  of  climate  above  mentioned,  it  is  probable  that  this 
country  cannot  be  rendered  very  ])roductive  without  artificial  irrigation, 
which  appears  to  be  practicable  only  in  a  few  places ;  and  that  conse- 
quently the  progress  of  settlement  in  it  will  be  much  slower  than  in  the 
Atlantic  regions  ol'  the  continent,  where  this  want  of  moisture  does  not 
exist. 

About  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  east  of  the  Far-West  Mountains  is 
another  chain,  called  the  Blue  Mountains,  stretchinsr  from  the  Snowy 
Mountains  northward  to  the  47th  degree  of  latitude,  and  forming  the 

*  The  Strait  of  Fuca,  which  bounds  this  region  on  the  north,  is  in  latitude  of  48^ 
degrees ;  and,  assuming  the  42d  parallel  as  tlie  aouthern  limit  of  tlie  territory,  its 
extreme  leneth  is  6^  degrees,  or  less  thun  four  hundred  and  tifty  miles  English.  Its 
breadth — that  is,  the  distance  between  the  Pacific  shore  and  the  great  chain  of 
mountains  which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  this  region  —  does  not  average 
a  hundred  miles;  and,  by  multiplying  these  two  numbers,  iorty-five  thousand  square 
English  miles  appears  as  the  superficial  extent  of  the  westernmost  rc<rion  of  Oregon. 
It  has,  however,  been  gravely  asserted  and  repeated  on  the  floor  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  that  the  valley  of  the  Willamet,  which  is  but  an  inconsiderable 
portion  of  this  region,  contains  not  less  than  siitij  thousand  square  miles  of  the  finest 
land ;  and  many  other  assertions,  equally  extravagant,  have  been  made,  and  are  be- 
lieved, respecting  the  vast  extent  of  la-id  in  the-  country  of  (he  Columbia,  sttperior  in 
quilit'j  to  any  in  the  United  States. 


OEOOHAPHv  or  unctiON. 


4i, 


western  wall  of  the  valley  of  the  Lewii,  the  great  aouthern  branch  of  the 
Columbia.  North  of  the  47th  degree  are  other  ridges,  which  appear 
to  be  continuations  of  the  Blue  Mountains ;  but  they  are  less  detiiied, 
and  are  distinauiohed  by  other  names.  Tiiu  region  between  the  Blue  and 
the  Far-West  Mountain!!  embraces  Hcveral  tracts  of  country  comparatively 
level,  and  some  vulleya  wider  thun  those  of  the  Pacific  region ;  the  soil  is, 
however,  less  productive,  and  the  climate  less  favorable  for  agriculture, 
than  in  the  places  similarly  situated  nearer  the  ocean.  The  most  exten> 
sive  valleys  are  those  traversed  by  the  streams  flowing  into  the  Columbia 
from  the  south,  between  the  Far-West  i  ange  and  the  Blue  Mountains, 
particularly  the  Walla-Walla,  and  the  Falls  or  Chutes  Rivers :  the  ploins, 
as  they  are  called,  though  they  are  rather  tracts  of  undulating  country, 
are  on  both  sides  of  the  northern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  between  the 
46th  and  the  49th  parallels  of  latitude.  The  surface  of  the  plains  consists 
generally  of  a  yellow,  snndy  clay,  covered  with  grass,  small  shrubs,  and 
prickly  pears ;  in  the  valleys  further  south,  the  noil  is  somewhat  better, 
containing  less  of  sand  and  more  of  vegetable  mould,  and  they  give  sup- 
port to  a  few  trees,  chiefly  sumach,  cottoi.  wood,  and  other  soft  and  use- 
less woods.  The  climate  of  this  whole  region  is  more  dry  than  that  of 
the  country  nearer  the  Paciflc  ;  the  days  are  warm,  and  the  nights  cool ; 
but  the  want  of  moisture  in  the  air  prevents  the  contrast  of  temperature 
from  being  injurious  to  health,  and  the  country  is  represented,  by  all  who 
have  had  the  opportunity  of  judging  by  experience,  as  being  of  extraordi- 
nary salubrity.  The  wet  season  extends  from  November  to  April;  but 
the  rains  are  neither  frequent  nor  abundant,  and  they  m  .  i  occur  at  any 
other  period  of  the  year.  In  the  southern  valleys  t\wre  is  little  snow; 
farther  north  it  is  more  common,  but  it  seldom  lies  long,  except  on  the 
heights.  Under  such  circumstances,  it  will  be  seen  that  little  encourage- 
ment is  offered  for  the  cultivation  of  this  part  of  Oregon.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  plains  and  valleys  appear  to  be  admirably  adapted  for  the 
support  of  cattle,  as  grass,  either  green  or  dry,  may  be  found  at  all  times, 
within  a  short  distance,  on  the  bottom  lands  or  on  the  hill  sides.  The 
want  of  wood  must  also  prove  a  great  obstacle  to  settlement,  as  this  indis- 

eensable  article  can  only  be  procured  from  a  great  distance  up  the  north 
ranch  of  the  Columbia,  or  from  the  Paciflc  region,  with  which  the 
passages  of  communication  through  the  mountains  are  few  and  diflicult. 
The  country  farther  east,  between  the  Blue  Mountains  nnd  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  appears  to  be,  except  in  a  very  few  small  detached  spots,  ab- 
solutely uninhabitable  by  those  who  depend  on  agriculture  for  subsistence. 
It  is,  in  fact,  a  collection  of  bare,  rocky  mountain  chains,  separated  by 
deep  gorges,  through  which  flow  the  streams  produced  by  the  melting  of 
the  snows  on  the  summits ;  for  in  the  lower  grounds  rain  seldom  falls  at 
any  time.  On  the  borders  of  the  Lewis,  and  pf  some  of  the  streams 
falling  into  it,  are  valleys  and  prairies,  producing  grass  for  cattle ;  but  all 
the  attempts  to  cultivate  the  esculent  vegetables  have  failed,  chiefly,  as  it 
is  believed,  from  the  great  difference  in  the  temperature  between  the  day 
and  the  succeeding  night,  especially  in  the  summer,  which  is  commonly 
not  less  than  thirty,  and  often  exceeds  fifty,  degrees  of  Fahrenheit's  ther- 
mometer.*    North  of  the  4Sth  parallel,  the  climate  is  less  dry,  and  the 

*  The  thermometer  was  seen  by  Wyeth,  at  Fort  Hall,  on  the  Lewis,  near  the  43d 
parallel  of  latitude,  at  the  freezing  point  in  the  morning,  and  at  ninety-two  degrees  of 
Fahrenheit  in  the  middle  of  a  day  in  August.  Frosts  occur  at  this  place  in  nearly 
every  month  in  the  year. 


eSOORAPHT    OF    OHEQON. 


bases  of  the  mountains  are  covered  with  wood ;  but  the  temperature  in 
most  places  is  too  cold  for  the  production  of  any  of  the  useful  grains  or 
garden  vegetables.  The  parts  of  this  region  which  appear  to  be  the  most 
favorable  for  agriculture,  are  those  adjacent  to  the  Clarke  River,  and 
particularly  around  the  Kuilerspelm,  or  Flathead  Lake,  where  the  hills 
are  well  clothed  with  oaks,  elms,  cedars,  and  pines,  and  the  soil  of  the 
low  grounds  is  of  good  quality. 

New  Caledonia  is  the  name  given  by  the  British  traders  to  the  country 
extending  north  and  west  of  the  Columbia  regions,  to  the  5<)th  parallel  of 
latitude.  It  is  a  sterile  land  of  snow-clad  mountains,  tortuous  rivers,  and 
lakes  frozen  over  nearly  two  thirds  of  the  year ;  presenting  scarcely  a 
single  spot  in  which  any  of  the  vegetables  used  as  food  by  civilized  people 
can  be  produced.  The  waters,  like  those  of  the  country  farther  south, 
however,  abound  in  fish,  which,  with  berries,  form  the  principal  support 
of  the  native  population.  The  largest  lakes  are  the  Babine,  communi- 
cating with  the  ocean  by  Simpson's  River,  and  Stuart's,  Quesnel's,  and 
Eraser's  Lakes,  the  outlet  of  all  which  is  Eraser's  River,  a  long  but  shal- 
low  stream,  emptying  into  the  Strait  of  Fuca  at  its  eastern  extremity. 
The  coast  of  this  country  is  very  irregular  in  outline,  being  penetrated  by 
many  bays  and  inlets,  running  up  from  the  sea  among  the  mountains 
which  border  that  side  of  the  continent ;  between  it  and  the  open  Pa- 
cific lie  the  islands  of  the  North-West  Archipelago,  which  will  be  here 
described. 

The  North-West  Archipelago  is  a  remarkable  collection  of  islands, 
situated  in,  and  nearly  filling  a  recess  of  the  American  coast,  about  seven 
hundred  miles  in  length,  and  eighty  or  one  hundred  in  breadth,  which  ex- 
tends between  the  48th  and  the  58th  parallels  of  latitude;  that  is  to  say, 
between  the  same  parallels  as  Great  Britain.  These  islands  are  in  number 
many  thousands,  presenting  together  a  surface  of  not  lei^s  than  fifty  thou- 
sand square  miles;  they  are,  however,  with  the  exception  of  nine  or  ten, 
very  small,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  are  mere  rocks.  The  largest 
islands  are  all  traversed,  in  their  longest  direction,  from  south-east  to  north- 
west, by  mountain  ridges;  and  the  whole  archipelago  may  be  considered 
as  a  range  connecting  the  Far- West  mountains  of  Oregon  with  the  great 
chain  farther  north,  of  which  Mounts  Fairweather  and  St.  Elias  are  the 
most  prominent  peaks. 

The  coasts  of  these  islands  are,  like  those  of  the  continent  in  their 
vicinity,  very  irregular  in  outline,  including  numerous  bays  and  inlets ; 
and  the  channels  between  them  are,  with  one  exception,  narrow  and 
tortuous.  These  coasts  and  channels  were  minutely  surveyed,  during  the 
period  from  1785  to  1795,  by  navigators  of  various  nations,  chiefly  with 
the  view  of  discovering  some  northern  passage  of  communication  between 
the  Pacific  and  the  Atlantic ;  and  the  true  geographical  character  of  the 
islands,  which  had  previously  been  regarded  as  parts  of  the  continent, 
was  thus  ascertained.  The  British,  under  Vancouver,  made  the  most 
complete  examination  of  the  archinnlago,  and  bestowed  on  the  islands, 
channels,  capes,  and  bays,  a  number  of  names,  nearly  all  drawn  from  the 
lists  of  the  British  royal  family,  peerage,  and  parliament,  some  of  which 
still  retain  their  places  on  maps,  though  few  of  them  will  probably  be  used 
when  those  parts  of  America  are  occupied  by  a  civilized  population. 

Of  the  interior  of  the  islands  little  is  known  ;  but  from  all  accounts, 
they  are  generally  rocky  and  barren.     The  climate  of  the  southernmost 


OBOGBAPHY    OV    OBEGON. 


9» 


islands  appears  to  resemble  that  of  the  western  region  of  Oregon,  except 
that  it  is  less  dry  in  summer ;  farther  north,  the  rainy  season  increases  in 
length,  but  the  accompanying  increase  in  the  coldness  of  the  atmosphere 
neutralizes  any  advantages  for  cultivation  which  might  be  derived  from 
the  mure  constant  supply  of  moisture.  Wood,  however,  seems  to  be 
every  where  abundant  near  the  coasts ;  and  this  may  prove  important,  as 
the  channels  of  the  archipelago  offer  great  facilities  for  communication 
by  steam  vessels. 

It  has  been  already  said  that  Russia  claims  all  the  coasts  and  islands 
north  of  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes.  The  inlands  south  of  that 
line  which  are  here  considered  as  attached  to  Oregon,  lie  in  three  groups. 

The  southernmost  group  embraces  one  large  island  and  an  infinite 
number  of  smaller  ones,  extending  from  the  49th  parallel  to  the  5l8t,  and 
separated  from  the  continent,  on  the  south  and  east,  by  the  channel  called 
the  Strait  of  Fuca.  The  main  island  received,  in  1792,  the  long  and 
inconvenient  appellation  of  Island  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver,  in  virtue  of  a 
compromise  between  a  British  and  a  Spanish  commander,  each  claim- 
ing the  merit  of  having  ascertained  its  insulation.  It  is  the  largest°in 
the  archipelago,  and,  indeed,  on  the  whole  west  coast  of  America,  being 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length,  by  an  average  breadth  of 
forty-five  miles.  On  its  south-western  side  are  several  large  bays  contain- 
ing islands,  among  which  are  some  good  ports,  formerly  much  frequented 
by  fur  traders.  The  principal  of  these  places  is  Nootka  or  King  George's 
Sound,  opening  to  the  Pacific  in  the  latitude  of  49J  degrees,  between 
Woody  Point,  on  the  north,  and  Point  Breakers,  on  the  south ;  and  offer- 
ing a  safe  harbor  for  vessels  in  Friendly  Cove,  about  eight  miles  from  the 
ocean.  Near  Nootka,  on  the  east,  is  another  bay,  called  Clyoquot ;  far- 
ther in  the  same  direction,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  is  Nitti- 
nat ;  and  within  the  strait  are  several  other  harbors,  generally  protected 
by  small  islands.  Nootka  Sound  was,  in  1789,  the  scene  of  occurrences 
which  gave  to  it  much  celebrity,  as  they  first  rendered  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America  the  subject  of  dispute  and  convention  between  the 
governments  of  European  nations. 

Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  so  called  by  the  British,  or  Washington's 
Island,  as  it  was  named  by  the  Americans  in  1789,  forms  the  centre  of 
another  group,  situated  between  the  latitudes  of  52  and  54  degrees,  at  a 
considerable  distance  frpni  the  continent.  The  principal  island  is  of  tri- 
angular form,  and  is  rather  smaller  in  superficial  extent  than  the  Island 
of  Quadra  and  Vancouver,  though  larger  than  any  other  in  the  archipelago. 
Its  north-western  extremity  received  from  the  Spanish  navigator  Perez, 
who  discovered  it  in  1774,  the  name  of  Cape  Santa  Margarita,  but  is 
now  generally  known  as  Cape  North;  the  north-east  end  was  called  by 
the  Americans  Sandy  Point,  and  afterward,  by  the  Spaniards,  Cape  Invisi- 
ble; the  southern  extremity  is  Cape  St.  James>  "The  island  presents  a 
number  of  bays,  affording  good  harbors,  which  were  first  examined,  sur- 
veyed, and  named,  by  the  American  fur  traders ;  and  afterwards  received 
from  British  and  Spanish  navigators  the  iippellations  usually  assigned  to 
them  on  maps.  The  principal  of  these  bays  are,  on  the  northern  side, 
Hancock's  River,  the  Port  Estrada  of  the  Spaniards,  near  Sandy  Point, 
and  Craft's  Sound,  or  Port  Mazarredo,  a  little  farther  west;  on  the 
Pacific  coast  are  Port  Ingraham,  near  North  Cape,  and  Magee's  Sound, 
in  the  latitude  of  52^  degrees;  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island  are 


m 


OKOORAPUT   or    OREGON. 


Skitikis,  in  latitude  of  53  degrees  20  minutes,  Cummashawa,  a  few  miles 
farther  south,  and  still  farther  in  the  same  direction.  Port  Ucah  and  Port 
Sturges.  Tlie  country  around  some  of  these  placen,  especially  Hancock's 
River  and  Magee's  Sound,  is  described  by  the  American  fur  traders  as 
fertile  and  beautiful,  and  enjoying  a  milder  climate  than  any  other  parts 
of  the  north-west  coasts. 

The  Princess  Royal's,  Burke's,  and  Pitt's  Islands  form  a  third  division 
of  the  North- West  Archipelago,  lying  near  to  each  other  and  to  the  con- 
tinent, immediately  east  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  They  are  all  sn^'11 
and  rocky,  and  nothing  worthy  of  note  appears  in  the  accounts  of  them. 

To  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Oregon  it  would  be  inconsistent  with 
the  plan  of  this  work  to  devote  much  attention.  They  are  all  savages; 
and  they  make  no  figure  in  the  history  of  the  country,  over  the  destinies 
of  which  they  have  not  exerted,  and  probably  never  will  exert,  any  influ- 
ence. The  principal  tribes  are  the  Clatsops  and  Chenooks,  occupymg 
the  country  on  each  side  of  the  Columbia,  near  its  mouth ;  the  Klamets 
and  Killamucks,  of  the  Umqua;  the  Classets,  on  the  Strait  of  Fuca; 
the  Kootanies,  and  the  Salish  or  Flatheads,  of  the  country  about  the 
northern  branches  of  the  Columbia,  and  the  Shoshones,  the  Sahaptins 
or  Nez-perces,  the  Kayouses,  Walla-Wallas,  and  Chopunnish,  who  rove 
through  the  regions  of  the  Lewis  branch.  These  tribes  differ  in  habits 
and  disposition  only  so  far  as  they  are  affected  by  the  mode  of  life  which 
the  nature  of  the  country  occupied  by  them  respectively  compels  them  to 
adopt ;  the  people  of  the  sea-coasts,  who  venture  out  upon  the  ocean,  and 
attack  the  whale,  being  generally  much  bolder  and  more  ferocious  than 
those  of  the  middle  country,  who  derive  their  subsistence  by  the  quiet 
and  unexciting  employments  of  fishing  in  the  river  and  digging  for  roots. 
Among  the  peculiar  habits  of  some  of  the  tribes  should  be  mentioned 
that  of  compressing  the  heads  of  their  infants  by  boards  and  bandages,  so 
as  materially  to  alter  their  sliape  ;  which  induced  the  discoverers  of  the 
country  to  apply  to  those  people  the  name  of  Flathead  Indians.  This 
custom  appears  to  have  prevailed  chiefly  among  the  tribes  of  the  lower 
Columbia,  and  but  little  among  those  dwelling  on  the  northern  branches 
of  the  river,  to  whom  the  appellation  of  Flatheads  is,  however,  at  present 
confined.  'The  Blackfeet,  so  much  dreaded  by  travellers  in  the  middle 
region,  chiefly  inhabit  the  country  east  of  the  Rotky  Mountains,  on  the 
Yellowstone,  and  the  Missouri  above  its  falls,  and  annually  make  in- 
roads upon  the  Shoshones  and  the  Chopunnish,  whom  they  rob  of  their 
horses,  their  only  wealth.  The  principal  tribes  in  the  country  north  of  the 
Columbia  regions,  are  the  Chilcotins  and  the  Talcotins,  between  whom 
the  most  deadly  hostility  subsists.  The  natives  of  the  North-West  Ar- 
chipelago are  the  most  cunning  and  ferocious  of  all  these  savages ;  par- 
ticularly those  of  the  vicinity  of  Nootka,  who  appear  also  to  be  the  most 
intelligent.  The  number  of  the  aborigines  of  all  those  territories  cannot 
be  ascertained,  but  it  is  supposed  not  to  exceed  thirty  thousand,  and  is 
every  where  diminishing. 

Among  these  people,  missionaries  of  various  Christian  sects  have  long 
been  laboring  with  assiduity,  though,  as  it  would  seem,  from  all  accounts, 
with  little  advantage.  The  Roman  Catholics  have  made  the  greatest 
number  of  converts,  if  we  assume  the  reception  of  baptism  as  the  test 
of  conversion;  whole  tribes  suhmittintj  at  once,  on  the  first  summons,  to 
the  rite.     The  Methodists  and  Presbyterians  employ  themselves  cjiiefly  in 


OBOOBAPHT   or    OREOON. 


31 


ve  long 
ccounts, 
Treatest 
ihe  test 
[ions,  to 
hiefly  in 


imparting  a  knowledge  of  the  simplest  and  most  useful  arts,  and  have 
thus  induced  some  of  the  natives  to  engage  regularly  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits ;  but  the  poverty  of  the  soil  generally  renders  their  efforts  In  this 
way  unavailing.  The  last-mentioned  missionaries  also  endeavor  to  con- 
vey religious  and  literary  instruction  to  the  Indians  through  the  medium 
of  their  own  languages,  into  which  books  have  been  translated  and 
printed  in  the  country.  Perhaps  it  would  be  better  to  teach  the  natives 
to  speak  and  read  English;  but  the  other  system  has  been  generally 
adopted  by  American  missionaries  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

The  civilized  inhabitants  of  Oregon  are,  as  already  mentioned  in  the 
General  View,  either  citizens  of  the  United  States  or  servants  of  the 
British  Hudson's  Bay  Company :  the  latter  body  enjoying,  by  special 
grant  from  the  government,  the  use  of  all  the  territories  claimed  by  Great 
Britain  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  well  as  the  protection  of  British 
laws,  in  virtue  of  an  act  of  Parliament ;  whilst  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  remain  independent  of  all  authority  and  jurisdiction  whatever. 

The  establishments  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  have  been,  until 
recently,  devoted  exclusively  to  the  purposes  of  the  fur  trade:  but,  within 
a  few  years  past,  several  farms  have  been  laid  out  and  worked,  under  the 
direction  of  the  agents  of  the  company ;  and  large  quantities  of  timber 
are  cut,  and  salmon  arc  taken  and  cured,  for  exportation  to  the  Russian 
possessions,  to  Mexico,  and  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  furs  are  ob- 
tained partly  by  hiMiters  and  trappers,  in  the  regular  service  of  the  com- 
pany, but  chie  7y  ^  trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  surrounding  country  ; 
and  they  are  traii  '  from  the  different  establishments  in  the  interior, 

either  to  Montre  ■  -^  '■.■.  York  Factory  on  Hudson's  Bay,  or  to  Fort  Van- 
couver on  the  Columbia,  whence  they  are  sent  in  the  company's  vessels 
to  London.  The  goods  for  the  trade,  and  the  supply  of  the  establish- 
ments, are  received  in  the  same  manner  ;  the  interior  transportation  being 
performed  almost  entirely  in  boats,  on  the  rivers  and  lakes,  between 
wliich  the  articles  are  carried  on  the  backs  of  the  voyageurs  or  boatmen. 
The  regular  servants  of  the  company,  in  the  territories  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  are,  a  chief  factor,  two  chief  traders,  and  about  four  hundred 
clerks,  traders,  voyagiurs,  &c. ;  besides  whom,  nearly  as  many  laborers 
from  Canada  and  from  I'lurope  are  employed  on  the  farms,  and  Indians 
are  occasionally  enga;^ed  when  wanted.  The  factors,  traders,  and  clerks, 
are,  for  the  most  part,  Scotchmen  or  Canadians ;  the  hunters  and  other 
regular  servants  arc  nearly  all  half-breeds.  The  company  maintains  on 
the  Pacific  coasts  one  steamer  and  six  or  eight  sail  vessels,  all  armed, 
and  three  large  ships  conduct  the  communications  between  the  Columbia 
and  London. 

The  establishments  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  are  generally  called 
forts,  and  are  sufficiently  fortified  to  resist  any  attacks  which  might  be 
expected.  Those  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  in  number  about 
twenty-two,  of  which  several,  including  all  the  largest,  are  near  the  coasts. 

Fort  Vancouver,  the  [)rincip!\l  of  these  establishments  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  is  situated  near  the  north  bank  of  the  Columbia,  at  the 
distance  of  eighty-two  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  its  mouth,  and  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  followinrr  the  course  of  the  stream.  The 
fort  is  simply  a  large,  square,  picketed  enclosure,  containing  houses  for 
the  residence  of  the  factor,  traders,  clerks,  and  upper  servants  of  the 
company,  magazines  for  the  furs  and  goods,  and  workshops  of  various 


88 


aSOGRAPHY    or   OKBOON. 


kinds;  hnmediatelj  behind  it  are  a  garden  and  orehard,  and  behind  these 
is  the  farn,  of  abciat  six  hundred  acres,  with  barns  and  all  other  necessary 
buildings.  West  of  the  fort  are  the  hospital  and  houses  for  the  voyageurs 
and  Indians;  about  two  miles  lower  down  the  river  are  the  dairy  and 
piggery,  with  numerous  herds  of  cattle,  hogs,  &.c. ;  and  about  three  miles 
above  the  fort  are  water-mills  for  grinding  corn  and  sawing  plank,  and 
sheds  for  curing  salmon.  The  number  of  persons  usually  attached  to  the 
post  is  not  less  than  seven  hundred,  of  whom  more  than  hnlf  are  Indians 
of  the  country,  the  others  being  natives  of  Great  Britain,  Canadians,  and 
half-breeds.  The  whole  establishment  is  governed  nearly  on  the  plan  of 
(oe  of  the  small  towns  of  Central  Europe  during  the  middle  ages ;  the 
stockade  fort  representing  the  baronial  castle,  in  which  the  great  digni- 
taries of  the  company  exercise  almost  absolute  authority. 

Fort  George,  at  the  distance  of  ten  miles  from  the  Pacific,  on  the 
south  bank  of  the  Columbia,  occupies  the  site  of  a  trading  establishment 
called  Astoria,  formed  by  the  Americans  in  1811,  which  was  taken  by 
the  British  during  the  war  in  1813,  and,  though  subsequently  restored  in 
virtue  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  has  never  since  been  re-occupied  by  citizens 
of  the  United  States.  The  first  buildings  were  destroyed  by  fire  in  1820 ; 
after  which,  some  small  houses  were  erected  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany on  the  same  spot,  where  a  trader  and  three  or  four  other  persons 
generally  reside.  Fort  Umqua  is  near  the  mouth  of  the  Umqua  River, 
which  enters  the  Pacific  about  a  hundred  and  eighty  miles  south  of 
the  Columbia,  and  affords  a  harbor  for  small  vessels.  Fort  Nasqually  is 
at  the  mouth  of  a  little  river  emptying  into  Puget's  Sound,  the  southern- 
most part  of  the  great  bay  called  Admiralty  Inlet;  which  extends  south- 
wardly into  the  continent  from  the  Strait  of  Fuca :  near  it  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  has  large  farms,  which  are  said  to  be  in  a  prosperous 
condition ;  this  place  is  also  the  seat  of  a  Roman  Catholic  mission, 
under  the  direction  of  a  bishop  tn  partibus,  (the  bishop  of  Juliopolis,) 
whose  influence  is,  no  doubt,  important  to  the  company,  as  the  majority 
of  its  servants  are  of  that  religion.  Fort  Langley  is  at  the  entrance  of 
Fraser's  River  into  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  in  lati- 
tude of  49  degrees  25  minutes;  farther  north  is  Fort  M'Loughlin,  on 
Milbank  Sound,  and  Fort  Simpson,  on  Douglas  Island,  in  the  North- 
West  Archipelago,  in  latitude  .54^  degrees.  The  company  has  moreover 
made  an  agreement  with  the  Russiuns,  who  claim  the  coasts  and  islands 
north  of  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  by  which  the  British 
traders  enjoy  the  exclusive  use  of  the  coasts  of  the  continent,  extending 
from  that  parallel  to  Cape  Spenser,  near  the  58tli  degree ;  and  a  post  has 
been  in  consequence  established  near  the  mouth  of  the  Stikine,  a  large 
river  emptying  into  the  channel  called  Prince  Frederick's  Sound,  in  the 
latitude  of  56  degrees  59  minutes. 

In  the  interior  of  the  continent,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  on  the 
Columbia,  above  its  falls.  Fort  Walla-Walla,  or  Nez-Perce,  on  the  east 
side  of  the  northern  branch,  near  its  confluence  with  the  southern  ;  Fort 
Okinagan,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Okinagan  River  into  the  north  or  main 
branch;  Fort  Colville,  near  the  Kettle  Falls;  and  some  others,  of  less 
consequence.  On  the  Lewis,  or  great  southern  branch,  are  Fort  Boise, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Boise,  or  Reed's  River,  and  Fort  Hall,  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  Portneuf.  North  of  the  Columbia  country  are  Fort  Al- 
exandria, on  Fraser's  River,  and  others  on  the  lakes,  which  abound  in 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  OREGON. 


id  these 
eceaaary 
yageurs 
ury  and 
ee  miles 
ink,  and 
>d  to  the 
Indians 
lans,  and 
I  plan  of 
iges;  the 
at  digni- 


,  on  the 
}lishment 
taken  by 
{Stored  in 
y  citizens 
in  1820 ; 
Bay  Com- 
ir  persons 
ua  River, 
south  of 
usqually  is 
southern- 
nds  south- 
Hudson's 
)rosperou8 
c  mission, 
uliopolis,) 
B  majority 
itrance  of 
sa,  in  lati- 
ighlin,  on 
he  North- 
moreover 
,nd  islands 
je  British 
extending 
a  post  has 
le,  a  large 
ind,  in  the 


that  part  of  the  continent.  All  these  ports  are,  however,  on  a  small 
scale,  and  seldom  contain  more  than  two  or  three  clerks  or  traders,  and 
a  few  Indians  or  half-breed  hunters.  Fort  Hall  was  established  in  1834, 
by  a  party  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Wyeth,  of  Boston,  who  endeavored,  at  the  same  time,  to  carry  on  the 
salmon  fishery  in  the  Lower  Columbia;  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
however,  by  their  active  and  powerful  competition,  soon  compelled  the 
Americans  to  relinquish  the  project,  and  to  dispose  of  their  posts  to  that 
body. 

The  American  trappers  and  hunters  have  been  compelled,  in  conse- 
quence of  these  measures  on  the  part  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to 
abandon  the  regions  of  the  Columbia,  and  to  confine  themselves  to  the 
northern  parts  of  California,  about  the  head-waters  of  the  Colorado  river, 
and  the  Utah  lake.  In  the  summer  of  each  year  they  repair  with  the 
produce  of  their  labors  to  certain  places  of  rendezvous,  wheire  they  meet 
the  traders  bringing  clothes,  hardware,  arms,  ammunition,  and  other 
articles  from  the  Missouri ;  and  an  exchange  of  merchandise  is  effected, 
to  the  benefit  of  both  parties.  The  principal  rendezvous  is  on  the  banks 
of  the  Sidskadee,  or  Green  river,  one  of  the  confluents  of  the  Colorado, 
near  the  western  extremity  of  the  great  Gap  in  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
called  the  South  Pass,  through  which  all  the  communications  between 
the  Mississippi  regions  on  the  one  side,  and  Oregon  and  California  on  , 
the  other,  are  conducted. 

The  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the  Columbia  regions,  previous 
to  1843,  did  not  probably  exceed  four  hundred  in  number,  nearly  all  of 
whom  were  established  in  the  valley  of  the  Willamet,  and  on  the  Walla- 
Walla,  as  farmers,  graziers,  or  mechanics,  very  few  being  engaged  in 
any  commercial  pursuit.  The  greater  part  of  them  had  gone  thither 
under  the  guidance  of  missionaries  of  several  Protestant  sects,  from  the 
Mississippi,  or  from  the  Eastern  States  of  the  Union ;  and  their  condition 
might  be  considered  as  prosperous,  in  consequence  rather  of  their  indus- 
try, sobriety,  and  morality,  than  of  any  peculiar  advantages  of  soil  or 
climate,  in  the  country.  I'he  Roman  Catholics  were  priests  from  Mis- 
souri, chiefly  Jesuits,  who,  as  usual,  devoted  themselves  almost  exclu- 
sively to  the  instruction  of  the  natives. 

In  1843,  however,  a  large  emigration  took  place  to  these  countries 
from  the  United  States;  and  it  has  been  continued  ever  since,  so  that  at 
the  end  of  1845,  the  number  of  American  inhabitants  was  not  less  than 
six  thousand,  of  whom  perhaps  three-fourths  were  established  in  the 
Willamet.  There  they  organized  a  government  on  the  model  of  those 
of  their  fatherland;  and,  according  to  the  most  recent  accounts,  the  little 
colony  is  proceeding  in  the  most  satisfactory  manner,  in  every  respect. 
Their  chief  town,  called  Oregon  City,  at  the  Falls  of  the  Willamet,  con- 
tains several  hundred  inhabitants;  the  abundance  of  their  crops  enables 
them  to  aflbrd  a  sufficiency  of  food,  not  only  for  the  supply  of  the  new 
comers,  but  also  for  exportation  to  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  and  a  news- 
paper, moreover,  issues  weekly  from  their  printing  press.  With  their 
neighbors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  they  maintain  the  most  friendly 
relations ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
servants  of  that  body,  in  the  territory,  will  remain,  and  that  their  child- 
ren, at  least,  will  become  citizens  of  the  Republic,  to  which  the  region 
south  of  the  49th  parallel  is  now  definitively  secured. 

5 


84 


GEOGRAPHY  OF  OREGON. 


The  intercourse  between  the  States  of  the  Union  and  the  Columbia 
regions,  has  been  hitherto  conducted  almost  entirely  by  land :  the  num- 
ber of  emigrants  who  have  gone  to  those  regions  by  sea  has  been  small ; 
aad  the  Missouri,  the  Arkansas,  and  the  Red  Rivers,  have  not  as  yet 
been  used  as  channels  of  communication  beyond  the  limits  of  the  States. 
To  what  distance  the  two  last-named  rivers  may  be  ascended  by  boats  is 
not  yet  determined ;  there  is,  however,  strong  reason  to  believe,  that  they 
may  each  be  navigated  to  points,  much  nearer  to  the  passes  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  than  the  place  from  which  the  land  journey  is  now  com- 
menced. The  Missouri  will,  in  all  probability,  never  be  employed  for 
the  purpose,  beyond  the  mouths  of  the  Kansas,  or  the  Platte ;  on  account 
of  its  circuitous  course,  and  the  great  elevation  and  barrenness  of  the 
region  between  its  headwaters  and  those  of  the  Columbia. 

The  towns  of  Independence  and  Westport,  near  the  confluence  of  the 
Kansas  with  the  Missouri,  on  the  western  frontier  of  the  state  of  Mis- 
souri, form  the  usual  places  of  departure  to  and  arrival  from  Oregon  and 
New  Mexico. 

Of  the  route  to  Oregon,  a  concise  descriptive  itinerary  may  not  be 
uninteresting 

From  Independence,  the  trail,  as  it  is  called,  for  there  is  as  yet  no  road, 
passe5!  along  the  south  side  of  the  Kansas  to  its  ford,  80  miles  —  then 
crossing  the  rivftr,  it  continues  northwestward,  ascending  the  valley  of  the 
Blue  branch  of  the  Kansas  to  the  Platte,  near  its  grand  island,  220  — 
thence  the  route  is  west  along  the  south  bank  of  the  Platte  to  the  junction 
of  its  north  and  south  forks,  or  branches,  115  —  across  the  south  branch, 
and  along  the  south  side  of  the  north  branch,  to  a  remarkable  pile  of  marl 
and  limestone,  called  the  Chimney,  155  —  continuing  along  the  south 
bank  to  Fort  Larimie,  a  fur  trading  post,  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream 
from  the  south,  called  Larimie's  Fork,  82  —  thence  along  the  north 
branch  of  the  Platte,  to  its  passage  through  a  ridge  of  sandstone,  near 
the  heights  called  the  Red  Buttes,  155  —  following  the  north  branch  to 
its  junction  with  a  small  stream,  called  the  Sweet  Water,  on  which,  not 
far  from  the  confluence,  is  the  remarkable  isolated  eminence  of  granite, 
called  Rock  Independence,  50  —  and  along  the  Sweet  Water,  through  a 
rugged  region,  up  to  its  sources  in  the  depression  of  a  gap  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  called  the  South  Pass,  110. 

This  is  the  western  limit  of  the  Atlantic  section  of  America;  within  a 
few  miles  of  the  source  of  the  Sweet  Water,  flowing  towards  the  Mexican 
Gulf,  is  that  of  Sandy  Creek,  one  of  the  head  streams  of  the  Colorado, 
which  falls  into  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Gulf  of  California  ;  and  not 
far  northwest  are  the  springs  of  the  Lewis,  the  southern  branch  of  the 
Columbia.  The  dividing  point  in  the  South  Pass,  between  the  Sweet 
Water  and  Sandy  Creek,  is  situated  in  latitude  of  42J  degrees ;  and  in 
longitude  of  109|  degrees  west  from  Greenwich ;  967  miles  by  the  route, 
and  about  750  in  a  straight  line,  from  the  town  of  Independence. 

The  route  continues  westward  to  Sandy  Creek,  and  down  it  to  the 
Siskadee,  or  Green  River,  the  main  bran  '-  of  the  Colorado,  70  miles  — 
then  across  the  Green  River,  up  one  of  its  -eams  called  Ham's  Fork, 
northward,  and  over  a  ridge  to  Bear  Rive  he  principal  feeder  of  the 
Utah,  or  Great  Salt  Lake,  135  —  up  Bea-  £!•  '>r,  northward  to  the  Beer 
or  Soda  Springs,  where  the  river  runs  a-  jund  the  extremity  of  a  line  of 
mountains,  and  turns  south  to  the  lakr ,  50  —  thence  across  a  ridge  to 


GEOGRAPHY    OF    OREGON. 


m 


the  Portneuf  River,  and  down  the  latter  50  miles  to  its  confluence 
with  the  Lewis,  or  Snake  River,  the  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  at 
which  point  is  situated  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  trading  post,  called 
Fort  Hall,  305  miles  from  the  South  Pass. 

The  route  as  far  as  Fort  Hall  presents  comparatively  few  difficulties, 
and  is  annually  traversed  by  hundreds  of  loaded  wagons.  The  remainder 
of  the  journey  is  attended  with  many  inconveniences,  some  arising  from 
the  nature  of  the  ground,  and  others  from  the  want  of  forage  and  water ; 
all  of  which  will  doubtless  be  diminished  when  the  country  becomes 
better  known,  and  necessity  should  have  led  to  the  application  of  labor 
at  certain  points.  That  the  obstacles  cannot  be  very  great,  is  conclu' 
sively  proved  by  the  fact,  that  the  wagons  go  on  from  Fort  Hall  :>..  1' 
Falls  of  the  Columbia,  generally  in  the  following  line  of  route : 

From  Fort  Hall,  along  the  south  side  of  the  Lewis,  to  the  American 
Falls,  22  miles;  thence  to  the  Fishing  Falls,  125;  and  thence  to  the 
crossing  place  of  the  Lewis,  40 ;  there  leaving  the  river,  the  trail  passes 
through  the  mountains,  which  border  it  northward,  to  the  Boise,  and 
down  that  stream  to  its  junction  with  the  Lewis,  near  the  trading  post 
called  Fort  Boise,  130;  crossing  the  Lewis  at  this  place,  its  direction  is 
nearly  north,  passing  over  the  Malheur,  Burnt  and  Powder  Rivers, 
which  empty  into  the  Lewis  from  the  west,  to  the  Grand  Rond,  a  beauti- 
ful and  rich  valley  surrounded  by  an  amphitheatre  of  mountains,  and 
drained  by  a  stream  of  the  same  name,  falling  into  the  Lewis,  13S; 
thence  100  miles  to  Fort  Walla-Walla,  or  Nez-perce,  a  trading  post  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Walla-Walla  River, 
into  the  main  trunk  of  the  Columbia,  nine  miles  below  the  junction  of 
the  north  and  south  branches  of  the  latter,  and  555  miles  fron>-Fort  Hall. 

Thus  the  distance  along  the  wagon  road  from  the  Missouri,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Kansas  to  the  Columbia,  at  the  junction  of  its  two  great 
branches,  is  about  1827  miles.  The  wagons  may  proceed  115  miles 
farther  down  the  valley  of  the  Columbia  to  its  Falls ;  but  much  labor  will 
be  required  ere  they  can  complete  the  passage  across  the  continent  to 
the  Pacific.  The  distances  on  the  road  below  Fort  Walla- Walla,  are, 
to  the  Umatalla  River,  25  miles ;  to  John  Day's  River,  70 ;  to  the  Falls, 
20  ;  to  the  Cascades,  45  ;  and  thence  to  Fort  Vancouver,  the  principal 
trading  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  west  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
ains, 55.  From  Fort  Vancouver  to  Oregon  City  is  about  30  miles,  and  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  120  :  the  whole  distance,  by  the  most  di- 
rect practicable  route  from  the  city  of  Washington  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  being  about  3312  miles.  The  route  across  the  continent, 
through  the  British  territories,  from  Fort  William,  near  the  west  end  of 
Lake  Superior,  to  Fort  Wall  a- Wall  a,  is  at  least  a  thousand  miles  longer 
than  that  from  the  latter  place  to  Independence.  The  passage  is  effected 
for  the  most  part  in  canoes,  on  rivers  and  lakes  ;  the  remainder  of  the 
journey  being  pursued  on  foot,  or  on  horseback  :  and  there  is  no  pros- 
pect that  the  route  will  ever  be  improved,  either  in  convenience  or  prac- 
ticability. 


RUSSIAN    AMERICA 


Russia  claims,  as  already  said,  in  virtue  of  the  discoveries  and  sctue* 
ments  of  her  subjects,  and  of  treaties  with  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  the  whole  division  of  the  American  continent,  and  the  adjacent 
islands,  north  of  the  latitude  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  and  west  of  a 
line  drawn  from  that  latitude,  northward,  along  the  highlands  bordering 
the  Pacific  Ocean  to  Mount  St.  Eliaa,  and  thence  due  north  to  the 
Arctic  Sea.  This  power  also  claims  the  whole  of  Asia,  extending  on  the 
Pacific  north  of  the  51st  parallel,  all  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  all  the 
Kurile  Islands,  north  of  the  latitude  of  45  degrees  40  minutes. 

Of  the  parts  of  America  thus  claimed  by  Russia,  the  islands  and  the 
coasts  of  the  continent  have  been  explored,  and  some  have  been  surveyed 
with  care;  several  rivers,  also,  have  been  traced  to  considerable  distances 
from  their  mouths :  the  interior  regions  are,  however,  but  little  known, 
and,  from  all  accounts,  they  do  not  seem  to  merit  the  labor  and  expense 
v'hich  would  be  required  for  their  complete  examination.  Only  small 
portions  of  the  islands  are  fit  for  agriculture,  or  for  any  purpose  useful  to 
man,  except  fishing  and  hunting ;  the  remaining  territories  present  to  the 
eye  nothing  but  rocks,  snow,  and  ice. 

The  exclusive  use  and  government  of  all  the  islands  and  ports  of 
America  above  mentioned  are  granted  by  charter  from  the  emperor  of 
Russia  to  a  body  called  the  Russian  American  Trading  Company,  which 
has  ectablished  on  their  co;ists  a  number  of  forts,  settlements,  and  factories, 
all  devoted  to  the  purposes  of  the  fur  trade  and  fishery ;  the  coast  of  the 
continent,  south-west  of  the  58th  degree  of  latitude,  has,  however,  been, 
as  already  mei/tioned,  leased  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  until  the  Ist 
of  June,  1850,  at  an  annual  rent,  payable  in  furs.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
Kurile,  the  Aleutian,  and  the  Kodiak  Islands  are  regarded  as  the  immedi- 
ate subjects  of  the  company ;  in  the  service  of  which,  every  man,  between 
the  ages  of  eighteen  and  fifty  years,  may  be  required  to  pass  at  least  three 
years.  The  natives  of  the  country  adjoining  the  two  great  bays  called 
Cook's  Inlet  and  Prince  William's  Sound,  are  also  under  the  control  of 
this  body,  and  are  obliged  to  pay  an  annual  tax  in  furs,  though  they  are  not 
compelled  to  enter  the  regular  service.  All  the  other  aborigines  are  con- 
sidered as  independent,  except  that  they  are  allowed  to  trade  only  with  the 
Russian  American  company.  By  the  latest  accounts,  the  number  of  Rus- 
sian establishments  was  twenty-six,  all  situated  south  of  Bering's  Strait. 
The  immediate  subjects  of  the  company  were  seven  hundred  and  thirty 
Russians,  fourteen  hundred  and  forty-two  Creoles,  or  children  of  Rus- 
sian fathers  by  native  mothers,  and  eleven  thousand  aborigines  of  the 
Kurile,  Aleutian,  and  Kodiak  Islands ;  the  number  of  the  natives  in- 
habiting the  other  regions  cannot  be  ascertained,  but  must  be  very  small, 
when  compared  with  the  extent  of  the  surface. 

The  Russian   American  territories  are   politically  divided   into  six 


S 


OEOOBAPHT   or    RUSSIAN   AMBRIOA. 


37 


diitnets,  each  of  which  is  under  the  direction  of  an  agent ;  the  whole 
being  superintended  by  a  governor^general,  usually  an  officer  of  the 
Russian  navy,  residing  at  the  capital  of  the  possessions.  The  furs 
are  collected  either  by  persons  in  the  regular  service  of  the  company,  or  as 
taxes  from  its  subjects,  or  by  trade  with  the  independent  natives ;  and  they 
are  transported  in  its  vessels  to  Petropawlowsk  in  Kamtchatka,  or  to 
Ochotsk,  in  Siberia,  or,  by  special  permission  of  the  Chinese  government,  to 
Canton,  or  to  the  European  ports  of  Russia ;  the  supplies  being  received 
from  those  places  by  the  same  vessels. 

The  district  of  Sitka  comprehends  the  islands  of  the  North*West  Ar- 
chipelago, and  the  coasts  of  the  American  continent,  northward  from 
the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  to  Mount  St.  Elias.  The  islands 
are  six  large,  and  an  infinite  number  of  smaller  ones,  separated  from 
each  other,  and  from  the  main  land,  by  narrow,  but  generally  navigable 
channels.  The  large  islands  are  those  distinguished  on  English  maps 
as  Prince  of  Wales's  Island,  the  southernmost,  ;>etween  which  and  the 
continent,  on  the  east,  are  the  Duke  of  York's  ind  the  Revillagigedo 
Islands;  farther  north,  on  the  ocean,  is  King  George  the  Third's  Ar- 
chipelago, including  Baranof's  and  Tchichagof's  Islands;  and  east  of 
these  latter  are  Admiralty  and  some  other  islands. 

Opposite  the  western  end  of  the  channel,  separating  Baranof's  from 
Tchichagof's  Island,  is  a  small  island,  consisting  of  a  single  and  beautiful 
conical  peak,  rising  from  the  ocean,  which  received  from  its  Spanish 
discoverers,  in  1775,  the  name  of  Mount  San  Jacinto,  but  is  better  known 
by  the  English  appellation  of  Mount  Edgecumb ;  a  narrow  passage,  called 
Norfolk  Sound,  separates  it  from  Baranof's  Island,  on  the  shore  of  which 
stands  Sitka,  or  New  Archangel,  the  capital  of  Russian  America.  This 
is  a  small  town,  of  wooden  houses,  covered  mostly  with  iron,  protected,  or 
rather  overlooked,  by  batteries,  and  inhabited  by  about  a  thousand  per- 
sons, of  whom  nearly  one  half  are  Russians,  the  majority  of  the  others 
being  Creoles.  The  governor's  house  is  large  and  substantially  built, 
and  is  surmounted  by  a  lighthouse ;  the  fortifications,  which  are  also  of 
wood,  are  arm^d  by  about  forty  guns:  attached  to  the  establishment  are 
an  extensive  arsenal,  including  a  ship-yard,  a  foundery,  and  shops  for 
various  artificers,  a  hospital,  and  a  church,  splendidly  adorned  in  the 
interior.  Sitka,  moreover,  though  thus  remote  from  all  civilized  coun- 
tries, contains  several  schools,  in  which  the  children  are  instructed  at  the 
expense  of  the  company,  a  library  of  two  thousand  volumes,  a  cabinet  of 
natural  history,  and  an  observatory  supplied  with  the  instruments  most 
necessary  for  astronomical  and  magnetic  observations. 

On  comparing  the  results  of  meteorological  observations,  it  appears 
that  the  mean  temperature  of  every  month  of  the  year,  at  Sitka,  is  higher 
than  that  of  any  place  in  America,  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  within 
several  degrees  of  the  same  latitude.  No  attempts-  at  cultivation  have, 
however,  been  made  there  or  in  any  other  part  of  Russian  America,  except 
at  the  settlement  of  Ross,  in  California,  on  a  scale  sufficiently  large  to 
authorize  any  opinions  as  to  the  agricultural  value  of  the  soil. 

The  district  of  Kodiak  comprises  all  the  coasts  from  the  North-West 
Archipelago,  northward  and  westward,  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
peninsula  of  Aliaska,  with  the  adjacent  islands,  as  also  a  portion  of  the 
coast  of  the  Sea  of  Kamtchatka,  on  the  north-west  side  of  Aliaska.  The 
largest  island  is  Kodiak,  situated  near  the  east  coast  of  Aliaska,  from 


m^ 


GEOORArHY    Or    RUSSIAN    i.MURICA. 


which  it  ia  separated  by  the.  Strait  of  Schelikof,  and  contaiuiiig,  on  its 
north-east  side,  St.  Paui'9,  an  inconsiderable  place,  formerly  the  capital  , 
of  Russian  America.     North  of  Kodiak,  an  arm  of  the  ocean,  called  by  > 
the  English  Cook's  Inlot,  and  by  llussinns  the  Gulf  of  Kenay,  stretches  ^ 
northwardly  into  the  continent  iieiirly  two  hundred  miles;  east  of  which,, ^ 
and  separated  from  it  by  a  peninsula,  is  another  great  bay,  called  Prince.,, 
William's  Sound,  or  the  Gulf  of  Tschugatsch,  containing  a  number  of  (  , 
islands;  and  still  farther  east  is  Comptroller's  Bay,  into  which  empties  > 
Copper  River,  the  largest  stream  flowing  from  this  part  of  America. 
Each  of  these  bays  was  minutely  examined  by  Cook,  in  1778,  and  by 
Vancouver,  in  1794,  while  in  search  of  a  passage  to  the  Atlantic;  and  . 
several  good  harbors  were  thus  discovered,  ou  the  shores  of  which  tho  ■ 
Russians  have  formed  trading  establishments. 

The  most  remarkable  natural  feature  of  this  part  of  America  is,  how- 
ever,  the  great  volcanic  peak  of  Mount  St.  Eliiis,  which  rises  from  the 
shore  of  the  Pacitic,  under  the  Gist  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  height  of 
more  than  seventeen  thousand  feet  above  the  occnn  level.  Near  it,  on  the  , 
south-east,,  is  Mount  Fairweatlier,  only  two  ihousanil  feet  less  in  elevation; 
and  between  the  two  peaks  lies  Admiralty,  or  Bering's,  or  Yakutat  Buy, 
where  the  Russian  navigators  Bering  and  Tchirikof  are  supposed  to 
have  first  anchored  on  their  voyage  of  discovery  from  Karatchatka, 
in  1741. 

The  peninsula  of  Aliaska  is  a  chain  of  lolly  volcanic  mountains, 
stretching  through  the  Pacific  from  the  latitude  of  59  degrees  south-west-  ^ 
ward  to  that  of  54  degrees  40  minutes.  The  most  elevated  peak,  culled  . 
Mount  Scheschaldin,  is  frequently  in  action,  throwing  forth  large  quanti- 
ties of  lava  and  ashes.  Near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  peninsula,  on 
the  east,  is  the  group  of  small  islands,  called  the  Schumagin  Islands ;  and 
from  the  same  extremity,  as  if  in  continuation  of  the  peninsula,  the  Aleu- 
tian Islands  extend,  at  short  distances  apart,  in  a  line  nearly  due  westward, 
more  than  six  hundred  miles,  to  the  vicinity  of  Kamtchatka. 

The  Aleutian  Islands  include  two  districts  of  the  Russian  American 
possessions.  The  easternmost  and  largest  islands  of  the  archipelago, 
called  the  Fox  Islands,  among  which  areUnimak,  Unnlashka,  and  Umnak, 
and  the  small  group  of  the  Pribulow  Islands,  lying  a  little  farther  north 
and  west  of  Aliaska,  form  the  district  of  Unnlashka.  The  district  of 
Atcha  comprises  the  other  islands,  which  are  small,  and  are  divided  into 
three  groups,  called  the  Rat,  the  Andreanowsky,  and  the  Commodore 
Islands.  These  islancfs  are  all  mountains,  rising  above  the  sea,  some  of 
them,  to  a  great  height:  only  the  larger  ones  are  inhabited,  or  indeed 
habitable ;  the  others  are  visited  at  certain  periods  by  the  Russian  hunt- 
ers and  fishermen,  in  search  of  the  animals  which  abound  on  their  shores. 
The  principal  settlement  is  Illiluk,  on  the  Bay  of  Samagoondha,  in  the 
north-east  part  of  Unalashka,  which  is  also  the  residence  of  a  bishop  of 
the  Greek  church. 

The  northern,  or  Michaelof,  district  includes  all  the  territories  ond 
islands  of  America,  north  of  Aliaska,  bordering  on  the  division  of  the 
Pacific,  called  the  Sea  of  Kamtchatka,  which  extends  from  the  Aleutian 
Islands  to  Bering's  Strait :  the  only  establishments,  however,  are  those 
on  the  shores  of  the  great  gulf  of  that  sea,  called  Norton's  Sound,  south 
of  the  64th  parallel  of  latitude.  The  principal  of  these  establishments 
is  fott  St    Michael,  near  Stuart's  Island,  to  which  furs,  skins,  oil,  and.. 


OBOORAPHY    or    THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS. 


39 


ivory  tusks,  are  brou'^ht  by  the  Esquimaux  and  Tchukskies  from  the 
islands  near  Bering's  Strait  and  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Soa.  Several 
expeditions  have  been  recently  made  by  Russian  officers  into  the  interior 
or  these  countries,  in  which  two  large  rivers,  the  Kwikpak  and  the 
Kuskokwim,  emptying  into  the  sea  between  the  (30th  and  the  63d  de- 
grees of  latitude,  were  traced  to  great  distances  from  their  mouths. 

The  part  of  Asia  bathed  by  the  Sea  of  Kamtchatka,  like  the  opposite 
part  of  America,  is  a  waste  of  snow-covered  rocks,  among  which  rise 
chains  of  loAy  mountains.  The  principal  of  these  chuins  extends  south- 
ward through  the  Pacific  from  the  60th  parallel  of  latitude,  forming  the  great 
peninsula  of  Kamtchatka:  south  of  which  stretch  the  Kuriie  Islands, 
south  of  these  the  Japan  Islands,  and  still  farther  south,  the  Philip- 
pine Islands;  all  formmg  parts  of  the  same  line  of  volcanoes  which 
extends  along  the  west  coasts  of  North  America.  The  only  place  of 
importance  in  Kamtchatka  is  Petropawlowsk,  a  small  town  situated  on 
the  Bay  of  Avatscha,  in  the  south-east  part  of  the  peninsula,  in  latitude 
of  53  degrees  58  minutes.  Near  the  point  where  the  peninsula  joins 
the  continent  stands  another  small  town,  called  Ochotsk,  on  the  north- 
ernmost shore  of  the  Gulf  of  Ochotsk,  which  separates  Kamtchatka  from 
the  main  land  on  the  west. 

The  Kuriie  Islands  are  twenty-two  in  number,  of  which  nineteen  are 
subject  to  Russia,  and  the  others  to  Japan.  The  Russian  Islands  form 
one  district  of  the  Russian  American  Company's  possessions ;  they  are 
ail  small,  and  of  little  value,  many  of  them  being  entirely  without  springs 
of  fresh  water.  The  Russians  have  but  one  establishment  on  them, 
called  Semussir,  in  Urup,  the  southernmost  of  the  islands,  from  which 
some  seal-skins  are  annually  carried  to  Petropawlowsk  and  Ochotsk. 


.mencan 


THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS. 

These  islands,  sometimes  called  the  Hawaiian  Archipelago,  are  situ- 
ated in  the  north-west  division  of  the  Pacific,  nearly  due  south  of  Aliaska, 
and  west  of  the  southern  extremity  of  California,  at  nearly  equal  distances 
—  that  is,  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles — from  each  of  those 
parts  of  America,  and  from  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  Their  distance 
from  Canton  is  about  five  thousand  miles.  They  are  ten  in  number, 
extending,  in  a  curved  line,  about  three  hundred  miles  in  length,  from  the 
19th  degree  of  latitude,  north-westward,  to  the  22d :  their  whole  super- 
ficial extent  is  estimated  at  six  thousand  six  hundred  square  miles,  and 
the  number  of  their  population,  by  the  latest  accounts,  was  about  one 
hundred  and  fii^y  thousand. 

The  south-easternmost  of  the  islands,  embracing  two  thirds  of  the 
surface,  and  more  than  half  of  the  population,  of  the  whole,  is  Owyhee, 
(or  Hawaii,  according  to  the  orthography  adopted  by  the  American 
missionaries.*)  North-west  of  Owyhee  is  Mowee,  (or  Maui,)  the  second 
in  size  of  the  islands,  with  about  twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  Near 
Mowee,  on  the  west,  are  Tahoorowa,  (Kahulawe,)  Morokini,  (Molokini,) 
Ranai,  JLanai,)  and  Morotai,  (Molokai,)  all  of  them  small  and  unimpor- 
tant.    Farther  in  the  same  direction  is  Woahoo,  (Oahu,)  nearly  as  large 

*  See  account  of  this  system  at  p.  330  of  the  History. 


40 


OEOOaAPHY   or   THE    SANDWICH    ISLAND!. 


ind  populous  u  Mowee,  and  perhaps  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  islands, 
agriculturally  and  commercially;  and  eighty  miles  farther  west  are  the 
large  island  of  Atooi.  (Kauai,)  and  the  smaller  ones  of  Oneehow,  (Ni- 
hau,)  and  Tahoora,  ^Kaula,)  which  complete  the  number  of  the  group. 
Tne  islands  are  all  mountainous  and  volcanic.    On  Owyhee  are  three 

Seat  peaks — Mowna  Roa,  (Mauna  Loa,)  fourteen  thousand  feet  high, 
owna  Kea,  and  Mowna  Hualalei,  from  which  eruptions  ocoasionailv 
take  place  more  extensive  in  their  effects  than  any  others  on  record, 
except,  perhaps,  those  in  Iceland.  They,  nevertheless,  contain  large 
tracts  of  fine  land,  which,  under  the  influence  of  a  regular  and  genial 
climate,  are  made  to  yield  all  the  productions  of  the  tropical,  and  many 
of  those  of  the  temperate  regions ;  and  they  are  probably  destined  to  be 
to  the  countries  bordering  upon  the  North  Pacific  what  the  West  Indies 
are  to  those  on  the  North  Atlantic.  They  remain  in  the  possession  of 
their  aboriginal  occupants,  who  appear  to  evince  considerable  aptitude 
to  receive  instruction,  and  have,  with  the  aid  of  some  missionaries  from 
the  United  States,  established  a  regular  government,  in  the  form  of  a 
hereditary  monarchy,  under  constitutional  restrictions.  The  native 
population  is,  however,  rapidly  diminishing,  while  that  of  foreigners, 
especially  from  the  United  States,  is  increasing. 

The  principal  ports  in  the  islands  are  Honoruru,  (Honolulu,)  on  the 
south  side  of  Woahoo,  and  Lahaina,  on  the  west  side  of  Mowee.  The 
town  of  Honoruru  contains  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants ;  it  is  much 
frequented,  especially  by  the  whaling  vessels  of  the  United  States ;  and 
property  to  a  great  amount  in  manufactured  articles,  provisions,  oil, 
&c.,  belonging  to  American  citizens,  is  often  deposited  there.  Owyhee 
has  no  good  harbor,  and  the  only  places  in  it  where  vessels  find  secure 
anchorage  are  the  Bays  of  Knrakakooa,  (Kealakeakua,)  in  which  Captain 
Cook  was  murdered  in  1779,  and  Toyahyah,  (Kawaihae,)  on  the  west 
side  of  the  island. 


About  two  thousand  miles  south-east  from  the  Sandwich  Islands  are 
the  Marquesas  Islands,  of  which  the  five  northernmost,  the  most  impor- 
tant in  the  group,  discovered  in  April,  1791,  by  Captain  Ingraham,  of 
the  brig  Hope,  of  Boston,  and  named  the  Washington  Islands,  were 
occupied,  in  1842,  by  the  French.  Six  hundred  miles  south-west  of 
these  lie  the  Society  Islands,  of  which  the  largest,  Otaheite,  or  Tahiti, 
according  to  the  new  nomenclature,  has  been  the  subject  of  conten- 
tion between  France  and  Great  Britain,  in  consequence  of  the  at- 
tempts of  the  former  power  to  take  possession  of  it.  The  Marquesas 
are  small,  rocky,  and  unproductive,  and  cannot  aiibrd  support  to  more 
than  a  small  number  of  civilized  people  ;  so  that  the  French  will  proba- 
bly find  it  prudent  to  abandon  them.  Otaheite,  on  the  contrary,  contains 
a  large  extent  of  the  richest  soil,  and  has  every  other  requisite  for  a 
raluable  possession  to  a  maritime  and  commercial  nation. 


:%' 


PB0JE0T8   rOK   0AM ALB   VNITINQ   THE   TWO   OCBAMI. 


41 


PROJECTS  FOR  CANALS  UNITING  THE  TWO  OCEANS. 

It  will  alio  be  proper,  in  conclusion,  to  offer  aome  obaervationa  on  • 
subject  which  may  be  considered  worthy  of  interest  here,  from  ita  ap- 
parent connection  with  the  destinies  of  North- West  America. 

The  only  means  of  communicotion  for  vessels  between  the  Atlantic 
and  the  Pacific  Oceans  at  present  known  or  believed  to  exist,  are  through 
the  seas  south  of  the  southern  extremities  of  America  and  Africa ;  and 
each  of  these  routes  being  circuitous  and  dangerous,  the  question  as  to 
the  practicability  of  a  canal,  for  the  passage  of  ships  through  the  central 
parts  of  the  American  continent  where  those  seas  arc  separated  by  narrow 
tracts  of  land,  has  been  frequently  agitated.  Humboldt,  in  his  justly- 
celebrated  essay  on  Mexico,  indicated  nine  places  in  America,  in  which 
the  waters  of  the  two  oceans,  or  of  streams  entering  into  them  respec- 
tively, are  situated  at  short  distances  apart.  Of  these  places  it  is  necer  ary 
here  to  notice  but  three,  to  each  of  which  attention  has  been  strongly 
directed,  at  diflferent  times,  and  especially  of  late  years,  in  the  expectation 
that  such  a  navigable  passage  for  ships  might  be  effected  through  it. 
They  are,  —  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  —  Nicarogua  —  and  the  Isthn.  is 
of  Tehuantepec. 

With  regard  to  the  last-mentioned  of  these  places,  it  has  been  deter- 
mined, by  accurate  surveys,  that  the  mountain  chain,  separating  the  two 
oceans,  is  nowhere  less  than  a  thousand  feet  in  height  above  the  level 
of  the  sea ;  and  that  a  canal  connecting  the  River  Guasecualco,  flowing 
into  the  Mexican  Qulf,  with  the  Pacific,  must  pass  through  on  open  cut 
of  nearly  that  depth,  or  a  tunnel,  in  either  case  more  than  thirty  miles 
in  length,  as  there  is  no  water  on  the  summit  to  supply  locks,  should  it 
be  found  practicable  to  construct  them.  The  Isthmus  of  Tehuantepec, 
however,  offers  many  advantages  for  travellers,  and  even  for  the  trans- 
portation of  precious  commodities,  especially  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  The  mouth  of  the  Guasecualco  River,  on  its  northern  shore,  is 
less  than  seven  hundred  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mi."  jissippi,  and 
only  one  hundred  miles  by  the  road  from  a  port  on  the  Pacific,  near 
Tehuantepec,  which  might  be  made  a  good  harbor ;  so  that  even  now  a 
traveller  might  go  in  a  fortnight  from  Washington  to  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  thence,  by  a  steam  vessel,  in  ten  days  more,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia,  or  to  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

In  Nicaragua,  it  has  been  proposed  to  improve  the  navigatioi>  o*  the 
San  Juan  River,  from  its  mouth  on  the  Mosquito  coast,  to  tiiC  great 
Lake  of  Nicaragua,  from  which  it  flows,  or  to  cut  a  canal  from  the 
Atlantic  to  that  lake,  whence  another  canal  should  be  marie  to  the 
Pacific.  Now,  without  enumerating  the  many  other  obs':::vles  to  this 
plan,  any  one  of  them  sufficient  to  defeat  it,  were  all  things  besides  favor- 
able, it  may  be  simply  stated,  that  one  mile  of  tunnti  and  two  of  very 
deep  cutting  through  volcanic  rock,  in  addition  to  many  locks,  will  be 
required  in  the  fifleen  miles,  which,  by  the  shortest  and  least  difiicult 
route,  must  be  passed  between  the  lake  and  tiie  Pacific.  Is  such  a  work 
practicable  ? 

The  Isthmus  of  Panama  remains  to  be  considered.  From  recent  and 
minute  surveys,  it  has  been  proved  that  no  obstacles  to  a  ship-canal  are 
presented  by  the  surface  of  this  isthmus,  equal  to  those  which  have  been 

6 


# 


% 


4t 


PROJXCTS   rOR   CANALS   DMITINO   WBK   lifO  6CEANS.< 


surmounted,  in  many  instances  of  a  similar  nature,  in  Europe  and  in  the 
United  States.  Or  the  other  hand,  the  country  contains  only  a  few 
inhabitants  of  the  most  wretched  description,  from  whose  assistance  in 
the  work  no  advantage  in  any  way  could  be  derived;  so  that  all  the  i 
laborers,  with  all  their  clothes,  provisions,  and  tools,  mugt  be*  transported 
thither  from  a  distance.  The  heat  is  at  all  times  intense,  and  the  wet 
season  continues  during  eight-  months  of  the  year ;  the  rains  in  July, 
August,  September,  and  October,  being  incessant,  and  heavier,  perhaps, 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  As  to  salubrity,  there  is  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion ;  but  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  the  extremes  6f  heat  and 
dampness,  which  are  there  combined,  could  be  otherwiii  than  deleterious 
to  persons  from  Europe,  or  from  the  Northern  States  of  the  American 
Union,  by  whom  the  labor  of  cutting  a  canal  must  be  performed,  unless, 
indeed,  it  should  be  judged  proper  to  employ  negroes  from  the  West 
Indies  on  the  work. 

It  seems,  therefore,  that  a  canal  is  practicable  across  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama :  there  is,  however,  not  the  slightest  probability  that  it  will  be 
made  during  this  century,  if  ever ;  the  commercial  utility  of  such  a 
communication  being  scarcely  sufficient  to  warrant  the  enormous  ex- 
penses of  its  construction  and  maintenance.  Ships  from  Europe  or  the 
United  States,  bound  for  the  west  coasts  of  America,  or  the  North 
Pacific,  or  China,  would  probably  pass  through  it,  unless  the  tolls  should 
be  too  heavy ;  but  those  returning  from  China  would  pursue  the  route 
around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  which  would  be,  in  all  respects,  more 
advantageous  for  them,  as  well  as  for  vessels  sailing  between  the  Atlantic 
coasts  and  India,  or  Australia.  Not  only  is  the  direct  distance  from  South 
Asia  and  Australia  to  the  Atlantic  coasts  greater  by  way  of  the  Pacific, 
but  vessels  taking  that  route  must  deviate  very  far  from  the  direct  course, 
in  order  to  avoid  the  trade  winds,  which  blow  constantly  westward  over 
the  intertropical  parts  of  the  Pacific. 

As  regards  political  effects,  it  may  be  assumed  as  certain,  thri,  should 
the  canal  be  made  by  any  company  or  nation  whatsoever,  it  will,  in 
time,  notwithstanding  any  precautions  by  treaty  or  otherwise,  become 
the  property  of  the  greatest  naval  power,  which  will  derive  a  vast  increase 
of  political  strength  from  the  possession. 


-f- 


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#• 


^ 


iA 


'W 


HISTOEY 


OF 


OREGON    AND    CALIFORNIA, 


AND 


THE  OTHER  COUNTRIES 


ON  THE 


NORTH-WEST  COAST  OF  NORTH  AMERICA. 


1 


*' 


;* 


tf 


•:■» 


;-\ir*       -^-^ 


% 


» 


'* 


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fliH  rOET 


Of 


J.>,....ll'lv 


OREGON    AND    CALIFORNIA, 


ETC. 


CHAPTER   I. 
To  1543. 

Preliminary  ObservationB  —  Efforts  of  the  Spaniards  to  discoTer  Western  Pasaages 
to  India  —  Successive  Discoveries  of  the  West  Indies,  the  North  American 
Continent,  the  Eastern  Passage  to  India,  Brazil,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  —  Search 
for  a  navigable  Passage  connecting  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans  —  Sup- 
posed Discovery  of  such  a  Passage,  called  the  Strait  of  Anion  —  Discovery  of 
Magellan's  Strait  and  the  Western  Passage  to  India  —  Conquest  of  Mexico  by 
Cortt-B,  who  endeavors  to  discover  new  Countries  farther  north-west  —  Voyages 
of  Moldonado,  Uurtado  de  Mcndoza,  Grijalva,  and  Becerra — Discovery  of  Cali- 
fornia—  Expedition  of  Cortes  to  California  —  Pretended  Discoveries  of  Friar 
Marcos  de  Niza  —  Voyages  of  Ulloa,  Alarcon,  and  Cabrillo  —  Expeditions  of 
Coronado  and  Soto  —  The  Spaniards  desist  from  their  Efforts  to  explore  the  North- 
West  Coasts  of  America. 

,  The  western  coasts  of  North  America  were  first  explored  by  the 
Spaniards,  in  the  sixteenth  century.  In  order  to  convey  a  clear  idea 
of  the  circumstances  which  led  to  their  discovery,  as  well  as  of  the 
claims  and  pretensions  based  upon  it,  a  general  view  will  be  here 
presented  of  the  proceedings  and  objects  of  Europeans  with  regard  to 
the  New  World,  from  the  period  when  its  existence  was  ascertained, 
to  that  in  which  the  exploration  of  its  north-west  coasts  was  begun. 

The  islands  found  by  Columbus,  in  his  voyage  across  the  Atlantic 
in  1492,  were  supposed  to  be  situated  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Asia,  the  eastern  limits  of  which  were  then  unknown ;  and  their  dis- 
covery was  the  result  of  endeavors  to  reach.  By  a  western  course,  the 
shores  of  India,  from  which  Europe  chiefly  derived  its  gold,  silks,  pre- 
cious stones,  and  spices,  and  those  of  China  and  Japan,  of  the  wealth 
of  which  empires  vague  accounts  had  been  brought  by  travellers. 

With  the  same  objects  in  view,  the  Portuguese  had  been  long 
engaged  in  exploring  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Africa  southward  and 
eastward,  in  search  of  some  channel  or  sea,  by  which  their  ships 


44 


TREATY   OF    PARTITION    OF    THE    OCEAN. 


[1494. 


% 


might  enter  the  Indian  Ocean ;  being  encouraged  in  their  exertions 
by  the  Bull  of  Pope  Nicholas  V.,  issued  in  1454,  assuring  to  thein 
the  exclusive  rights  of  navigation,  trade,  fishery,  and  conquest,  in  all 
seas  and  countries  which  they  might  find  in  that  course,  not  before 
occupied  by  a  Christian  prince  or  people.  They  had,  however,  not 
reached  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa  when  Columbus  returned 
from  his  first  voyage  across  the  Atlantic ;  and,  immediately  after- 
wards, the  united  Spanish  sovereigns  procured  from  Pope  Alex- 
ander VI.  Bulls,  granting  to  them  and  their  successors,  forever, 
exclusive  privileges  with  regard  to  the  seas  and  countries  which 
might  be  found  by  navigating  towards  the  west,  similar  to  those 
confenad  on  the  Portuguese,  as  to  seas  and  countries  east  of  the 
Atlantic. 

Upon  these  extraordinary  commissions,  as  bases,  was  founded  the 
celebrated  Treaty  of  Partition  of  the  Ocean,  concluded  at  Torde- 
sillas,  on  the  7th  of  June,  1494,  between  the  sovereigns  of  Spain 
and  the  king  of  Portugal,  then  the  greatest  maritime  powers  of 
Europe.  By  this  treaty,  the  Portuguese  were  to  enjoy  and  possess 
the  exclusive  rights  of  discovery,  trade,  conquest,  and  dominion,  in 
all  the  seas  and  territories  not  previously  belonging  to  a  Christian 
prince  or  people,  east  of  a  meridian  line  passing  three  hundred  and 
seventy  leagues  west  of  the  Cape  Verd  Islands ;  and  the  Spaniards 
were  to  possess  the  same  rights,  in  all  seas  and  all  pagan  lands 
west  of  ;'\.t  line;  no  provision  being  made  for  the  contingency 
of  the  meeting  of  the  parties  proceeding  in  these  opposite  "direc- 
tions. The  two  nations  having  thus,  under  the  guaranty  of  the 
highest  authority  recognized  in  Europe,  settled  the  conditions  on 
which  they  were  to  appropriate  to  themselves,  respectively,  nearly 
all  the  sea  and  nearly  all  the  land  on  the  globe,  without  regard  for 
the  wishes  or  claims  of  any  other  people,  each  continued  its  search 
for  a  navigable  passage  to  India,  generally,  though  not  always, 
within  the  limits  assigned  to  it. 

In  this  search  the  Portuguese  were  soon  successful :  for,  in  1499, 
they  sailed  around  the  southern  extremity  of  Africa,  to  India,  where 
they  established  their  dominion  or  their  influence  over  many  of 
those  regions.  They  also,  about  the  same  time,  obtamed  possession 
of  Brazil,  the  coasts  of  which  were  found  to  extend  east  of  the 
meridian  of  partition,  to  the  great  regret  and  constant  annoyance 
of  the  Spaniards,  who  had  hoped,  by  the  treaty  of  1494,  to  secure 
to  themselves  the  exclusive  sovereignty  of  all  the  countries  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Atlantic. 


1500.] 


THE    STHAIT   OF    ANIAN. 


45 


''  a1 


^1 

m 


The  English,  however,  disregarding  the  Papal  prohibitions,  imme- 
diately entered  the  career  of  discovery  in  the  west ;  and,  under  their 
flag,  John  Cabot,  first  of  all  Europeans,  reached  the  American  conti- 
nent in  1497.  They  were  soon  followed  by  the  French,  who,  during 
the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  made  numerous  expeditions 
across  the  Atlantic ;  and  the  Portuguese,  notwithstanding  the  restric- 
tions of  the  treaty  of  partition,  also  endeavored  to  find  a  passage  to 
India  in  the  same  direction.  It  was,  indeed,  long  believed  that 
Gaspar  Cortereal,  a  Portuguese  navigator,  who  explored  the  coasts 
of  Labrador  in  1499  and  1500,  had  actually  sailed  through  a  narrow 
channel,  named  by  him  the  Strait  of  Anion,*  westward  from  the 
Atlantic,  nearly  in  the  course  of  the  58th  parallel  of  latitude,  into 
another  great  sea,  communicating  with  the  Indian  Ocean.  This 
channel  may  have  been  the  same,  now  called  Hudson's  Strait,  con- 
necting the  Atlantic  with  Hudson's  Bay,  the  discovery  of  which  is 
generally  attributed  to  Sebastian  Cabot ;  it  was  certainly  known  as 
the  Strait  of  Labrador  long  before  its  entrance  by  the  navigator 
whose  name  it  bears.  The  belief  in  the  existence  of  such  a  north' 
west  passage  to  India,  joining  the  Atlantic  in  the  position  assigned 
to  the  mouth  of  Cortereal's  Strait  of  Anian,  caused  many  voyages 
to  be  made  to  the  coasts  of  northern  America,  on  both  sides,  during 
the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries,  and  many  false  reports  to 
be  circulated  of  the  discovery  of  the  desired  channel ;  the  effects  of 
which  reports,  in  promoting  the  exploration  of  those  coasts,  will 
be  Iiereafter  shown. 


199, 
liere 

of 
sion 

the 
ince 
jure 

the 


*  "  It  is  stated  in  several  collections  of  voyages,  that  the  name  oi  Anian  was  given 
to  the  strait  supposed  to  have  been  discovered  by  Gaspar  Cortereal,  in  honor  of  two 
brothers,  who  accompanied  him  ;  but  there  are  no  grounds  for  such  a  supposition.  *  * 
In  the  earliest  maps,  Ania  is  marked  as  the  name  of  the  north-westernmost  part  of 
America.  Ani,  in  the  Japanese  language,  is  said  to  signify  brother  ;  hence,  probably, 
the  mistake."  (Chronological  History  of  Voyages  in  the  Arctic  Regions,  by  John 
Bar  -^w,  page  45.)  —  In  an  article  on  the  subject  of  a  north-west  passage,  in  the 
Lontton  Quarterly  Review  for  October,  1816,  supposed  to  have  been  written  by 
Barrow,  it  is  asserted  that  Cortereal  "  named  the  Strait  of  Anian,  not  in  honor 
of  two  brothers  who  accompanied  him,  but  because  he  deemed  it  to  be  the  eastern 
extremity  of  a  strait  whose  western  end,  opening  into  the  Pacific,  had  already  received 
that  name."  The  value  of  this  assertion  may  be  estimated  from  the  fact,  that 
the  ocean  on  the  western  side  of  America  was  not  discovered  by  Europeans  until 
thirteen  years  after  Cortereal's  voyage  and  death.  The  review  abounds  in  similar 
errors. 

Many  of  the  most  important  errors  in  Barrow's  Chronological  History  have  been 
exposed  by  Mr.  R.  Biddle,  in  his  admirable  Memoir  of  Sebastian  Cabot,  to  which  the 
reader  is  referred  for  the  most  exact  accounts,  so  far  as  they  can  be  obtained,  of  these 
early  voyages  to  the  north-west  coasts  of  the  Atlantic.  A  concise  and  clear  view  of 
the  results  of  these  voyages  will  be  found  in  the  first  chapter  of  Bancroft's  History 


of  the  United  States 


*»^ 


46 


DISCOVERT    OF    THE    PACIFIC    OCEAN. 


[1613. 


'^  The  Spaniards  were,  in  the  mean  time,  assiduously  engaged  in 
planting  colonies  in  the  countries  newly  found  by  them  beyond  the 
Atlantic,  to  which  they  gave  the  collective  name  of  JVest  Indies,* 
and  in  exploring  the  coasts  in  the  vicinity  of  the  islands  first  dis- 
covered, which  were  soon  ascertained  to  be  the  borders  of  a  vast 
continent.  How  far  south  this  continent  extended,  and  whether  it 
was  united,  in  the  north,  with  Asia,  or  with  the  territories  seen  in  that 
direction  by  the  English  and  the  Portuguese,  remained  to  be  deter- 
mined ;  and,  with  those  objects,  the  Spaniards  persevered  in  their 
examinations,  in  which  they  were,  moreover,  encouraged  by  the 
constant  assurances  of  the  natives  of  the  coasts  and  islands, 
respecting  the  existence  of  a  great  sea,  and  rich  and  powerful 
nations,  towards  the  setting  sun.  ,, 

In  1513,  this  great  sea  was  discovered,  near  the  spot  where 
Panama  now  stands,  by  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  the  governor  of 
the  Spanish  colony  of  Darien.  It  was  naturally  supposed  to  be 
the  Southern  Ocean,  which  bathed  the  shores  of  India ;  and,  as  its 
proximity  to  the  Atlantic  was  at  the  same  time  ascertained,  encour- 
agement was  afforded  for  the  hope  that  the  two  great  waters  would 
be  found  connected  in  a  position  the  most  favorable  for  navigation 
between  Europe  and  Asia.  The  examinations  of  the  Spaniards 
were,  in  consequence,  directed  particularly  to  the  coasts  of  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien,  and  were  conducted  with  great  zeal  and  perse- 
verance, until  the  entire  separation  of  the  two  oceans  by  land,  in 
that  quarter,  had  been  proved.  These  researches  were,  however, 
also  continued  both  north  and  south  of  the  isthmus,  until,  at  length, 
in  1520,  Fernando  Magalhaens,  or  Magellan,  a  Portuguese,  in  the 
naval  service  of  Spain,  discovered  and  sailed  through  the  strait  now 
bearing  his  name,  into  the  sea  found  by  Balboa,  over  which  he 
pursued  his  voyage  westward  to  India. 

The  great  geographical  question,  as  to  the  circumnavigation  of 
the  globe,  was  thus  solved,  though  not  in  a  manner  entirely  satisfac- 
tory to  the  Spaniards.     The  Strait  of  Magellan  was  intricate,  and 


•  The  name  America  was  first  applied  to  the  New  World  in  a  work  entitled  "  Conmo- 
graphice  Instructio,  i^c,  tnsuper  quatuor  Americi  Vespucii  Jfavigationes,"  written  by 
Martin  Waldseemuller,  under  the  assumed  name  of  Hylacomylus,  and  printed  at  Saint 
Die,  in  Lorraine,  in  1507.  Tills  has  been  clearly  proved  by  Humboldt,  in  his  admi- 
rable " Examen  Critique  de  VHistoire  de  la  Geographie  du  Jfouveau  Continent"  in 
which  many  other  interesting  questions  relating  to  the  discovery  of  the  New  World 
are  also  discussed  and  satisfactorily  determined.  The  Spaniards  carefully  ffvoided 
the  use  of  the  name  America  in  their  histories  and  of&cial  documents,  in  not  one  of 
which,  anterior  to  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  can  the  word  be  found.  > 


1518.] 


THE    SPANIARDS    AND    PORTVOUESG    IN    INDIA. 


47 


of 
ac- 
ind 


the  passage  through  it  was  attended  with  great  difficulties  and 
dangers ;  besides  which,  it  was  itself  almost  as  far  from  Europe  as 
India  by  the  eastern  route.  Other  and  more  direct  channels  of 
communication  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Southern  Ocean  might, 
indeed,  be  discovered :  but  the  latter  sea  was  found  to  be  infinitely 
wider  than  had  been  supposed ;  and,  although  the  part  of  it  crossed 
by  Magellan  was  so  little  disturbed  by  storms  that  he  was  induced 
to  name  it  the  Pacific  Ocean,  yet  he  also  observed  that  the  winds 
blew  over  it  invariably  from  eastern  points.  These  circumstances 
depressed  the  hopes  of  the  Spaniards  with  respect  to  the  establish- 
ment of  their  power  in  Southern  Asia,  though  they  continued  their 
expeditions  to  that  part  of  the  world  by  way  of  Magellan's  Strait, 
and  their  search  for  new  passages  into  the  Pacific.  Their  expedi- 
tions to  India  brought  them  into  collision  with  the  Portuguese,* 
who  had  already  made  several  settlements  in  the  Molucca  Islands, 
and  had  obtained  from  the  Chinese,  in  1513,  the  possession,  under 
certain  qualifications,  of  the  important  port  of  Macao,  near  Canton  ; 
and  many  bloody  conflicts  took  place,  in  consequence,  between  the 
subjects  of  those  nations,  in  that  distant  quarter  of  the  world,  as 
well  as  many  angry  disputes  between  their  governments,  before  the 
questions  of  right  at  issue  could  be  settled. 

In  the  mean  t'-c,  ct'^er  events  occurred,  which  consoled  the 
Spaniards  for  disappointments  with   regard   to  India,  and 

caused  then-  lirect  their  attention   more   particularly  to  the 

New    W- 

Before  tlie  penod  of  the  departure  of  Magellan  on  his  expedi- 
tion, the  Spaniards  had,  in  fact,  derived  from  their  discoveries 
beyond  the  Atlantic  but  few  of  the  advantages  which  they  anti- 
cipated.     They   had   found   and    taken   possession   of  countries 

*  Spain  claimed  the  exclusive  navigation,  trade,  and  conquest,  westward,  to  the 
extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Malacca,  so  as  to  include  all  the  Molucca  Islands  and 
China;  while  the  Portuguese  insisted  on  exercising  the  same  privileges,  without 
competition,  eastward  as  far  as  the  Ladrone  Islands ;  each  on  the  ground  that  the 
meridian  of  partition,  settled  with  regard  to  the  Atlantic,  in  1494,  would,  if  continued 
on  the  other  side  of  the  globe,  pass  in  such  a  manner  as  to  place  the  portions  claimed 
by  itself  within  its  own  hemisphere.  The  question  was  discussed  between  the  two 
courts  directly,  and  by  their  commissioners  who  met  at  Badajos  in  1523,  but  without 
arriving  at  any  definite  arrangement.  At  length,  on  the  22d  of  April,  1529,  a  treaty 
was  concluded  at  Saragossa,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  king  of  Spain  sold  all  his  rights 
to  the  Moluccas  to  tlie  king  of  Portugal  for  350,000  ducats  of  gold,  ($3,080,000,) 
with  the  proviso  that  the  latter  might,  by  repaying  the  sum,  be  at  liberty  again  to 
urge  those  rights.  The  sum  was  never  repaid,  and  Spain  did  not  again  claim  the 
islands ;  though,  for  a  long  period  afterwards,  the  Spanish  empire  was  represented 
on  Spanish  maps  as  extending  westward  to  the  extremity  of  Malacca. 


48 


MEXICO   CONQUERED   BT   THE    SPANIARDS. 


[1523. 


'I 


extensive,  rich  in  mines,  productive  in  soil,  and  delightful  in 
climate,  but  uncultivated,  and  thinly  peopled  by  savages,  who 
could  neither  by  gentle  nor  by  violent  means  be  induced  to  labor 
regularly  for  others  or  for  themselves;  and,  although  the  want 
of  a  working  population  was  in  part  supplied  by  the  introduction 
of  negro  slaves  from  Africa,  there  was  little  prospect  that  Spain 
would  ever  be  much  benefited  by  these  distant  colonies.  While 
Magellan's  ships  were  on  their  western  route  to  India,  however, 
the  wealthy  and  powerful  empire  of  Mexico,  which  had  been 
discovered  in  1518  by  a  party  of  Spaniards  from  Cuba,  was 
conquered  by  Hernando  Cortes;  and  Spain  immediately  became 
the  richest  nation  of  Europe.  The  reports  of  the  brilliant  results 
of  this  conquest  drew  to  the  West  Indies  crowds  of  adventurers, 
all  eager  to  acquire  wealth  and  renown  by  similar  means ;  who, 
uniting  in  bands,  under  daring  and  experienced  captains,  ranged 
through  both  the  western  continents,  seeking  mines  of  precious 
metals  to  work,  or  rich  nations  to  plunder.  In  this  manner 
Peru  was  subjugated  by  Pizarro  and  his  followers  before  1535; 
the  other  expeditions  were  fruitless,  as  respects  the  principal 
objects  in  view,  wiiile,  in  the  course  of  them,  many  distant  shores 
and  interior  regions  were  explored,  which  would  otherwise,  perhaps, 
not  have  been  visited  for  centuries.  The  acts  of  these  demon 
heroes  are  recorded  with  minuteness  in  the  stirring  pages  of  the 
chronicles  of  their  day ;  and  curious  narratives  of  several  of  their 
expeditions,  written  by  persons  engaged  in  them,  have  been  pre- 
served by  the  assiduity  of  Spanish,  luJian,  English,  and  Dutch 
collectors  of  historical  tracts. 

The  desire  to  discover  new  passages  of  communication  for  vessels 
between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans,  was  also  a  strong 
motive  for  the  expeditions  of  the  Spaniards  along  the  coasts  of  the 
New  World ;  and  no  one  pursued  this  search  with  more  zeal  and 
perseverance  than  Hernando  Cortes.  Scarcely  had  he  established 
the  authority  of  his  sovereign  in  Mexico,  than  he  commenced  the 
exploration  of  the  adjoining  seas  and  countries,  with  that  object, 
as  well  as  with  the  hope  of  finding  other  rich  nations  to  subdue  ; 
and  in  such  enterprises  he  spent  a  great  portion  of  his  time  and 
resources,  during  his  residence  in  America.  In  prosecution  of  his 
plans,  chiefly,  the  long  and  in  most  places  narrow  territory, 
connecting  Mexico  with  the  southern  continent,  was  carefully 
examined,  until  it  had  been  ascertained  that  the  two  seas  were 
separated  by  land  throughout  the  whole  extent.     He,  at  the  same 


1528.]  PLANS    OF    CORTES   FOR  FURTBKR   CONQUESTS. 


49 


time,  employed  vessels  in  surveying  the  coasts  of  the  Mexican  Gulf, 
and  those  of  the  Atlantic,  farther  north ;  and  he  built  others  on  the 
Pacific  side,  for  similar  purposes,  two  of  which  he  sent,  as  early  as 
1526,  to  the  East  Indies,  in  aid  of  the  armaments  despatched  thither 
from  Spain,  under  Loyasa.* 

The  first  expedition  made  by  the  Spaniards  along  the  Pacific 
coasts,  westward  from  Mexico,  was  conducted  by  Pedro  Nunez 
Maldonado,  one  of  the  ofBcers  of  Cortes,  who  sailed  from  the 
mouth  of  the  River  of  Zacatula  in  July,  1528,  and  passed  nearly  six 
months  in  surveying  the  shores  between  that  point  and  the  mouth 
of  the  River  of  Santiago,  about  a  hundred  leagues  farther  north- 
west. The  territory  of  which  this  coast  formed  the  southern  border 
was  then  called  Xalisco ;  it  was  entirely  unknown  to  the  Europeans, 
and  was  inhabited  by  fierce  tribes  of  savages,  who  had  never  been 
subdued  by  the  Mexicans.  Maldonado  brought  back  flattering 
accounts  of  its  fertility,  and  of  the  abundance  of  precious  metals 
in  its  interior,  which  did  not  fail  to  excite  the  attention  of  his 
employer,  as  well  as  of  others  among  their  countrymen. 

Cortes  was  at  that  time  in  Spain,  whither  he  had  gone  in  1528, 
chiefly  with  the  object  of  obtaining  some  more  definite  recognition 
of  his  powers  an(  rights  in  the  New  World  than  had  been  hitherto 
granted.  He  was  received  at  Madrid  with  the  most  signal  honors 
by  his  sovereign,  the  celebrated  emperor  Charles  V. ;  and,  on  his 
return  to  Mexico,  he  carried  with  him  patents,  confirming  him 
as  captain-general  of  that  country,  then  called  New  Spain,  and 
creatinp^  him  a  grandee  of  Castile,  with  the  title  of  Marquis  of  the 
Valley  oi  Oaxaca ;  to  which  was  attached  the  possession  of  vast  tracts 
of  country  in  America,  including  the  port  of  Tehuantepec,  on  the 
Pacific.  He  also  procured  from  the  emperor  a  capitulation,  or 
charter,  empowering  him  to  discover  and  conquer  any  islands  in  the 

*  The  accounts  of  the  early  Spanish  expeditions  oiF  discovery  on  the  North  Pacific 
side  of  America,  contained  in  the  present  chapter,  are  derived  from — the  published 
letters  of  Cortds,  and  a  number  of  letters  and  reports  from  him  and  other  Spanish 
commanders,  hitherto  unpublished,  copies  of  which,  made  from  the  originals  in 
Madrid,  were  kindly  placed  at  the  disposition  of  the  writer  by  W.  H.  Prescott,  of 
Boston,  the  accomplished  author  of  the  Histories  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  and  of 
tlie  Conquest  of  Mexico  —  the  Historia  General  de  las  Indias,  by  Herrera — the 
Cronica  de  Nueva  Espaiia,  by  Gomara  —  the  Historia  dc  la  Conquista  de  Mexico, 
by  Bcrnal  Dias  —  the  Raccolte  de  Viaggi,  by  Ramusio  —  the  Collection  of  Voyages 
and  Discoveries,  by  Hakluyt  —  the  History  of  Voyages  in  the  Pacific,  by  Bumey  — 
and  the  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  the  Voyage  made,  in  1792,  by  Captains 
Galiano  and  Valdes,  in  the  Spanish  schooners  Sutil  and  Mexicana,  published  at 
Madrid,  by  order  of  the  government,  in  1802,  to  which  references  will  also  be  fre- 
quently made  in  the  succeeding  chapters. 
7 


50 


NUNO    DE    GUZMAN. 


[1530. 


Pacific,  or  other  countries  west  of  Mexico,  not  within  the  limits 
assigned  to  any  other  Spanish  governor ;  of  which  countries  he  and 
his  heirs  forever  were  to  enjoy  the  government,  and  one  twelfth  of 
all  the  precious  metals,  pearls,  and  other  advantages  therefrom 
accruing,  on  condition  of  their  treating  the  natives  with  kindness, 
and  endeavoring  to  convert  them  to  the  Christian  faith.  The  politic 
Charles  did  not,  however,  intrust  such  extensive  powers  to  one  so 
capable  and  ambitious  as  Cortes,  without  at  the  same  time  providing 
certain  checks,  by  means  of  which  the  conqueror  of  Mexico  might 
be  effectually  prevented  from  using  his  faculties  for  any  other 
ends  than  enlarging  the  dominions  of  the  crown  of  CaLtile.  The 
expenses  of  all  his  expeditions  were  to  be  borne  by  himself ;  and 
he  could  do  little,  if  any  thing,  without  the  assent  of  the  Audiencia, 
or  Royal  Court  and  Board  of  Administration,  established  at  Mexico, 
the  members  of  which  were  chosen  from  among  his  most  bitter 
enemies. 

The  only  governor  in  the  New  World  with  whose  claims  Cortes 
might  have  been  supposed  to  interfere,  by  expeditions  westward 
from  Mexico,  was  Nuno  de  Guzman,  the  president  of  the  Audiencia, 
who  had  obtained  from  the  emperor  the  government  of  Panuco, 
the  country  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  surrounding  the  spot  now 
occupied  by  the  town  of  Tampico,  and  also  that  of  Xalisco,  of 
which  he  had  received  accounts  from  Maldonado  and  other  adven- 
turers. This  person,  one  of  the  same  stamp  with  Pizarro  and 
Davila,  had  been  assiduously  engaged  in  undermining  the  authority 
and  influence  of  Cortes ;  and  no  sooner  did  he  learn  that  his  rival 
was  returning  to  Mexico  as  captain-general,  than  he  assembled  all 
the  troops  under  his  command  in  the  capital,  and  marched  for 
Xalisco,  where  he  remained  many  years,  subduing  the  country,  and 
exterminating  its  aboriginal  inhabitants. 

Cortes  thus,  on  his  arrival  in  Mexico  in  July,  1530,  found  himself 
deprived  of  the  means  not  only  of  making  expeditions  of  discov- 
ery, but  also  of  maintaining  his  authority  in  the  kingdom ;  and  he 
was  obliged  to  wait  two  years  before  he  could  send  a  single  vessel 
out  on  the  Pacific.  At  length,  by  the  middle  of  the  year  1532,  he 
had  two  ships  ready  for  sea,  which  he  determined  to  despatch  on  an 
exploratory  voyage,  along  the  western  coast,  whilst  the  others  were 
in  progress  of  construction  at  Tehuantepec. 

At  that  period,  the  whole  eastern  coast  of  the  American  contment 
bad  been  explored,  but  imperfectly  by  European  navigators ;  though 
no  part  of  the  interior,  north  of  Mexico  and  the  countries  in  its 


1532.] 


UNCERTAINTT  OP  ACCOUNTS  OP  OLD  VOYAGES. 


51 


iself 
tecov- 
[dhe 
lessel 
I,  he 
kn  an 
Iwere 

pent 
[ough 
its 


immediate  vicinity,  was  known.  The  northernmost  points  occupied 
by  the  Spaniards  were,  —  on  the  Atlantic  side,  Panuco,  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  —  and,  on  the  Pacific  side,  Culiacan,  which 
was  founded  by  Nuno  de  Guzman,  in  1530,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Gulf  of  CaHfornia.  Beyond  Culiacan,  towards  the  north  and  the 
west,  the  lands  and  the  seas  were  entirely  unexplored ;  and  between 
that  place  and  the  civilized  portion  of  Mexico,  extended  a  wide 
space  of  uncultivated  country,  including  Xalisco,  which  was  called, 
by  the  Spaniards,  New  Galicia.  The  ports  occupied  by  the  Span- 
iards on  the  Pacific  side  of  Mexico,  were  Tehuantepec,  1'  a  most 
eastern,  at  which  Cortes  had  his  arsenals  and  ship-yards ;  Acapuico, 
the  principal  place  of  trade,  and  tl.e  nearest  to  the  capital ;  and 
Zacatula,  and  Aguatlan,  on  the  confines  of  Xalisco,  beyond  which 
the  coasts  were  little  known. 

Before  entering  upon  the  history  of  the  Spanish  discoveries  on 
the  North  Pacific  side  of  America,  it  should  be  observed,  that  the 
accounts  of  these  and  other  expeditions  by  sea,  made  at  that  period, 
which  have  descended  to  us,  are  very  obscure  and  inexact,  especially 
as  regards  geographical  positions;  so  that  it  is  generally  difficult, 
and  often  impossible,  to  identify  places  by  means  of  the  descriptions 
given  in  them.  This  arises  partly  from  the  circumstance,  that  the 
accounts  were  nearly  all  written  by  priests,  clerks,  or  other  persons 
unacquainted  with  naval  matters,  who  paid  little  attention  to  lati- 
tudes, longitudes,  courses,  and  bearings,  and  were  unable  to  record 
them  properly ;  and  partly  from  the  imperfection  of  the  instruments 
then  employed  to  determine  the  altitudes  and  relative  distances  of 
the  heavenly  bodies,  which,  even  on  land,  and  under  the  most  favor- 
able conditions  of  the  atmosphere,  gave  results  far  from  accurate, 
and  were  entirely  useless  in  a  vessel  on  a  rough  sea,  or  in  cloudy 
weather.  This  uncertainty  as  to  the  positions  of  places  necessarily 
leads  to  confusion  respecting  their  names ;  and  we  accordingly  find, 
in  the  account  of  each  of  these  voyages  along  the  same  portion  of  the 
coast,  a  nomenclature  of  capes,  bays,  and  islands,  almost  entirely  dif- 
ferent from  that  contained  in  the  narratives  of  all  the  other  voyages. 

The  expedition  of  discovery,  made,  by  order  of  Cortes,  to  the 
coasts  north-west  of  Mexico,  in  1532,  was  conducted  by  his  kins- 
man, Diego  Hurtado  de  Mendoza,  who  sailed  from  Tehuantepec  in 
July  of  that  year,  with  two  vessels,  one  commanded  by  himself,  the 
other  by  Juan  de  Mazuela.  In  the  instructions  drawn  up  by  Cortes, 
of  which  a  copy  has  been  preserved,  Mendoza  was  directed  to  sail 
within  sight  of  the  coast,  and,  at  all  convenient  places,  to  land,  and 


52 


VOTAOES   or    MBNDOZA,   QRMALVA,    AND   BECERRA.        [1532. 


communicate  with  the  natives,  whom  he  was  to  conciliate  by  every 
means  in  his  power.  Should  he  find  a  country  which  seemed  to  be 
rich,  or  inhabited  by  civilized  persons,  ho  was  immediately  to  return, 
or  to  send  back  one  of  his  vessels,  with  the  news.*  Hurtado  de 
Mendoza  accordingly  proceeded  slowly  along  the  shore  of  the 
continent,  as  far  north-west  as  the  27th  degree  of  latitude,  where, 
finding  his  crew  mutinous,  ho  sent  back  one  of  his  vessels,  with 
the  greater  part  of  his  men,  and  continued  the  voyage,  with  a  smah 
crew,  in  the  other.  The  vessel  sent  back  reached  Culiacan  River 
in  great  distress,  and  was  there  deserted  by  nearly  all  her  men.  Her 
commander  then  endeavored,  with  the  remainder  of  his  crew,  to 
carry  her  to  Acapulco :  but  she  was  stranded  at  the  mouth  of  the 
River  of  Vanderas,  near  the  point  now  called  Cape  Corricntes,  and 
all  on  board,  with  the  exception  of  three,  were  put  to  death  by  the 
natives  of  the  country,  after  which  the  vessel  was  seized  and  plun- 
dered by  Nuno  de  Guzman.  As  to  the  vessel  in  which  Mendoza 
continued  his  voyage,  a  vague  account  was  received,  that  she  had 
been  thrown  on  the  coast  far  nortli,  and  that  all  her  crew  had 
perished. 

Cortes  did  not  receive  the  news  of  the  loss  of  the  vessel  which 
had  been  sent  back  by  Hurtado  de  Mendoza  until  the  middle 
of  the  following  year;  and  he  then  immediately  despatched  two 
ships  from  Tehuantepcc,  in  search  of  the  other  vessel,  under  the 
command,  respectively,  of  Hernando  Grijalva  and  Diego  Becerra. 
These  ships  left  the  port  together,  on  the  30th  of  September, 
1533,  but  were  soon  after  separated.  Grijalva,  going  far  out, 
discovered  a  group  of  islands  situated  about  fifty  leagues  from 
the  coast,  named  by  him  Islands  of  St.  Thomas,  (the  same  now 
called  the  Rcvillagigedo  Islands,)  where  he  remained  until  the 
following  spring,  and  then  returned  to  Acapulco,  without  having 
seen  any  new  part  of  the  continent.  Becerra,  with  the  other  ship, 
took  his  course  north-westward  along  the  shore  of  Xalisco,  near 
which  his  crew  mutinied,  and  he  was  murdered  by  the  pilot, 
Fortuiio  Ximenes.  The  mutineers,  under  the  command  of  the 
pilot,  then  steered  directly  west  from  the  main-land,  and  soon 
reached  a  coast  not  before  known,  on  which  they  landed,  after 
anchoring  their  ship  in  a  small  bay,  near  the  23d  degree  of  latitude. 
There,  more  than  twenty  of  their  number,  including  Ximenes,  were 


"  Herrera,  Decade  v.  book  vii.  —  Manuscript  letters  and  memorials  from  Coitfes  to 
the  emperor,  in  1539  and  1540 ;  and  from  Nuno  de  Guzman,  in  1535  and  1540. 


1535.] 


OORTCS  LANDS  IN  CALirORNIA. 


53 


lich 

■ 

Idle 

■ 

two 

■ 

the 

M 

rra. 

m 

)er, 

■ 

out, 

1 

rom 

m 

lOW 

1 

the 

1 

ring 
hip, 

1 

lear 

1 

ilot, 

t:  9 

the 

I      1 

oon 

fter 

ide. 

i 

rere 

1 

l6ato 


killed  by  the  natives ;  the  survivors  succeeded  in  carrying  the  vessel 
over  to  the  little  harbor  of  Chiametla,  in  Xalisco,  where  she  also 
was  seized  by  NuRo  de   Guzman. 

These  attempts  of  Cortes  to  make  discoveries  in  the  north-west, 
had,  in  the  mean  time,  excited  NuHo  de  Guzman  to  eflforts  with  the 
same  object ;  and  he  had  sent  several  parties  of  men  in  that  direc- 
tion, one  of  which  appears  to  have  traced  the  western  shore  of  the 
continent  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  river  now  called  thn  Colorado, 
and  to  have  first  brought  accounts  of  rich  and  populous  countries 
and  splendid  cities  in  the  interior.  Guzman  had  also  received 
largo  accessions  to  his  forces  from  Mexico,  and  was  making  many 
settlements,  one  of  which  soon  prospered,  and  became,  in  time, 
the  city  of  Guadalaxara,  the  second  in  size  in  New  Spain. 

When  Cortes  became  assured  of  the  seizure  of  his  vessels  by 
Guzman,  he  addressed  a  complaint  on  the  subject  to  the  Audiencia ; 
whose  decision  being,  however,  not  so  determinate  in  his  favor  as 
he  wished,  he  assembled  a  large  body  of  troops,  and  marched  with 
them  to  Chiametla,  where  he  also  ordered  three  vessels  to  be  sent 
from  Tehuantcpec.  On  the  approach  of  these  forces,  Guzman 
advanced  to  meet  them,  but  no  action  ensued ;  and  Cortes,  having 
been  joined  at  Chiametla  by  his  vessels,  embarked  in  them,  with  a 
portion  of  his  men,  and  set  sail  for  the  new  country,  found  by 
Ximenes  in  the  west,  which  was  said  to  abound  in  the  finest  pearls. 
On  the  3d  of  May,  1535,  the  day  of  the  Invention  of  the  Holy 
Cross,  according  to  the  Roman  Catholic  calendar,  the  squadron 
anchored  in  the  bay,  on  the  shore  of  which  the  murderers  of 
Becerra  had  met  their  fate  in  the  preceding  year ;  and,  in  honor  of 
the  day,  the  name  of  Santa  Cruz  was  bestowed  on  the  place,  of 
which  possession  was   solemnly  taken  for  the    Spanish  sovereign. 

The  country  thus  claimed  by  Cortes  for  Spain,  was  the  south-east 
part  of  the  great  peninsula,  which  projects  from  the  American  con- 
tinent on  the  Pacific  side,  •  i  nearly  the  same  direction,  and  between 
nearly  the  same  parallel  of  latitude,  as  that  of  Florida  on  the 
Atlantic  side.  It  soon  after  received  the  name  of  California, 
respecting  the  origin  and  meaning  of  which,  many  speculations  — 
none  of  them  satisfactory  or  even  ingenious — have  been  ofTered. 
The  bay  called  Santa  Cruz  by  Cortes  was  probably  the  same  now 
known  as  Port  La  Paz,  about  a  hundred  miles  from  the  Pacific, 
near  the  24th  degree  of  latitude;  though  some  accounts  place 
it  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  southernmost  point  of  the 
peninsula 


54 


CORTES   snPER8E;>KD   BT   MENDOZA. 


[1537. 


On  the  shore  of  this  bay,  surrounded  by  bare  mountains  of  rock, 
arid  and  forbidding  in  appearance,  though  not  more  so  than  the 
sandy  waste  about  Vera  Cruz,  Cortes  landed  with  a  hundred  and 
thirty  men  and  forty  horses,  and  then  sent  back  two  of  his  vessels  to 
Chiametla,  to  bring  over  the  remainder  of  the  forces;  hoping  to 
find,  in  the  interior  of  the  new  country,  another  Mexico,  in  the 
conquest  of  which  he  might  employ  his  powerful  energies.  The 
vessels  soon  reappeared,  with  a  portion  of  the  troops,  and  were 
again  despatched  to  the  Mexican  coast,  from  which  only  one  of 
them  returned,  the  other  having  been  wrecked  on  her  way.  Cortes 
thereupon  embarked,  with  seventy  men,  for  Xalisco,  from  which  he 
came  back,  after  encountering  the  greatest  dangers,  just  in  time 
to  prevent  the  total  destruction,  by  famine  of  those  left  at  Santa 
Cruz. 

In  these  operations,  more  than  a  year  was  consumed,  without 
obtaining  any  promise  of  advantage.  The  new  country,  so  far  as  it 
had  been  explored,  was  utterly  barren,  and,  except  that  a  few  pearls 
were  found  on  the  coast,  destitute  of  all  attraction  for  the  Spaniards. 
Tlie  officers  of  the  expedition  were  discontented :  of  the  men,  a 
number  had  died  from  want  and  disease ;  the  others  were 
mutinous,  and  cursed  'Cortes,  his  island,  his  bay,  and  his  dis- 
covery." * 

Meanwhile  his  wife,  becoming  alarmed  by  the  reports  of  the  ill 
success  of  the  expedition,  which  had  reached  Mexico,  sent  a  vessel 
to  Santa  Cruz,  with  letters  entreating  his  immediate  return  ;  and  he, 
at  the  same  time,  learned  that  he  had  been  superseded  in  the 
government  of  New  Spain  ^  '  Don  Antonio  de  Mendoza,  a  no ole- 
man  of  high  rank  and  character,  who  had  already  made  his 
entrance  into  the  capital  as  viceroy. 

The  removal  of  Cortes  from  the  government  of  the  country  which 
had,  by  his  means,  been  added  to  the  dominions  of  Spain,  was  a 
heavy  blow  ;  particularly  as  he  was,  at  that  moment,  much  embar- 
rassed from  want  of  funds,  his  private  property  having  been  seriously 
injured  by  the  expenses  of  his  recent  expeditions,  from  which  no 
advantage  had  been  obtained.  He  was,  in  consequence,  obliged  to 
return  to  Mexico,  where  he  arrived  in  the  beginning  of  1537,  and, 
soon  after,  to  recall  from  Santa  Cruz  his  lieutenant,  Francisco  de 
Ulloa,  with  the  forces  which  had  been  left  there ;  and,  not  being 
able,  at  the  time,  to  employ  his  vessels,  he  sent  two  of  them,  under 
Grijalva,  to  Peru,  laden  with  arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  in 


Ber.ial  Dias,  chap.  199. 


1527.] 


RAMBLES   OF    CABEZA-VACA. 


55 


aid  of  his  friend  Francisco  Pizarro,  who  was  then  in  great  difficulties, 
from  an  extensive  insurrection  of  the  natives.''*' 

Cortes,  nevertheless,  still  claimed  the  right,  in  virtue  of  his 
capitulation  with  the  sovereign,  and  as  admiral  of  the  South  Sea, 
to  make  expeditions  on  that  ocean  for  his  own  benefit;  and  he 
resolved  to  prosecute  the  discovery  of  California,  by  which  he 
still  expected  to  retrieve  his  fortunes,  so  soon  as  he  could  obtain  the 
requisite  funds.  The  advancement  of  this  claim,  however,  brought 
him  into  collision  with  the  new  viceroy,  who  was  an  enlightened 
and  determined  man,  and  who  had  Ukewise  become  interested  in  the 
exploration  of  the  regions  north-west  of  Mexico,  by  the  accounts  of 
some  persons  recently  arrived  from  that  quarter ;  and  a  violent  con- 
troversy ensued  between  the  two  chiefs,  which  lasted  until  the 
conqueror  quitted  Mexico. 

The  persons  from  whom  the  viceroy  Mendoza  received  this 
information  respecting  the  territories  north-west  of  Mexico,  were 
Alvaro  Nunez  de  Cabeza-Vaca,  two  other  Spaniards,  and  a  negro  or 
Moor.  They  had  landed,  in  1527,  near  Tampa  Bay,  in  the 
peninsula  of  Florida,  among  the  adventurers  who  invaded  that 
country  under  Panfilo  Narvaez,  in  search  of  mines  and  plunder; 
and,  after  the  destruction  of  their  comrades  by  shipwreck,  starvation, 
and  the  arrows  of  the  Indians,  they  had  wandered  for  nine  years 
through  forests  and  deserts,  until  they  reached  Culiacan,  whence 
they  were  sent  on  to  Mexico.  Of  their  route,  it  is  impossible  to 
form  any  exact  idea  from  the  narrative  published  by  Cabeza-Vaca : 
he  had  seen  no  signs  of  wealth  or  civilization  in  the  regions  which 
he  had  traversed ;  but  he  had,  in  many  places,  received  from  the 
natives  accounts  of  rich  and  populous  countries,  inhabited  by 
civilized  people,  situated  farther  north-west ;  and  the  viceroy,  after 
hearing  these  accounts,  thought  proper  to  endeavor  to  ascertain  the 


*  A  long  account  of  the  adventures  of  Cortes,  in  his  Californian  expedition,  may 
be  found  in  Herrera,  Decade  viii.  book  viii.  chap.  ix.  and  x.  The  descriptions  of 
the  localities  given  by  Herrera,  and  other  historians,  are,  however,  so  vague,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  trace  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards  with  exactness ;  and  the  events 
related  are  unimportant,  being  merely  details  of  disasters,  such  as  might  have 
occurred  to  ordinary  men,  engaged  in  ordinary  enterprises.  Those  who  take  interest 
in  every  thing  connected  with  Cort6s,  —  and  the  number  of  such  must  doubtless  be 
greatly  increased,  since  the  publication  of  Mr.  Preacott's  History  of  the  Conquest  of 
Mexico,  —  may  obtain  explanations,  as  to  the  events  of  this  expedition,  from  the 
Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes,  and  from  the  first  volume  of 
Burney's  History  of  Voyages  in  the  Pacific  ;  but  they  should  avoid  the  account 
given  by  Fleurieu,  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Marchand's  Voyage,  which 
only  renders  confusion  worse  confounded. 


56 


ULLOA   DISCOVERS   THE   WEST   COAST   OF    CALIFORNIA.    [1539. 


I    1 


truth  of  them.  For  this  purpose  he  collected  a  band  of  fifty  horse- 
men, who  were  to  be  commanded  by  Dorantes,  one  of  the  compan- 
ions of  Cabeza-Vaca;  but,  that  plan  being  overthrown  by  some 
circumstance,  he  was  induced,  by  the  representations  of  his  friend, 
the  celebrated  Bartolome  de  las  Casas,  to  depute  two  friars  to  make 
the  exploration,  with  the  view  of  preserving  the  inhabitants  of  the 
countries  visited,  from  the  violence  to  which  military  men  would  not 
fail  to  resort,  if  there  should  be  occasion,  for  the  gratification  of 
their  cupidity.  The  friars,  Marcos  de  Niza,  provincial  of  the 
Franciscan  order  in  Mexico,  and  Honorato,  accompanied  by  the 
negro  or  Moor,  Estavanico,  who  had  crossed  the  continent  with 
Cabeza-Vaca,  accordingly  set  out  from  Culiacan,  on  the  7th  of  March, 
1539,  in  search  of  the  rich  countries  reported  to  lie  in  the  north-west. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  the  friars,  the  last  expedition  made 
by  order  of  Cortts  was  begun.*  It  was  commanded  by  Francisco 
de  Ulloa,  who  sailed  from  Acapulco  on  the  8th  of  July,  1539,  with 
three  vessels,  well  manned  and  equipped,  and  took  his  course  for 
California.  One  of  the  vessels  was  driven  ashore  in  a  storm  near 
Culiacan :  with  the  others  Ulloa  proceeded  to  the  Bay  of  Santa 
Cruz,  and  thence  in  a  few  days  departed  to  survey  the  coasts 
towards  the  north-east.  In  this  occupation  the  ships  were  engaged 
until  the  18th  of  October,  when  Ulloa  returned  to  Santa  Cruz, 
having  in  the  mean  time  complcte'y  examined  both  shores  of  the 
great  gulf  which  separates  California  from  the  main  land  on  the 
east,  and  ascertained  the  fact  of  the  junction  of  the  two  territories, 
near  the  32d  degree  of  latitude,  though  he  failed  to  discover  the 
Colorado  River,  which  enters  tlie  gulf  at  its  northern  extremity. 
This  gulf  was  named,  by  Ulloa,  the  Sea  of  Cortes ;  but  it  is  gener- 
ally distinguished,  on  Spanish  maps,  as  the  Vermilion  Sea,  {Mar 
Vermejo,)  and,  in  those  of  other  nations,  as  the  Gulf  of  California. 

On  the  29th  of  October,  Ulloa  again  sailed  from  Santa  Cruz,  in 
order  to  examine  the  coasts  farther  west,  and  having  rounded  the 
point  now  called  Cape  San  Lucas,  which  forms  the  southern 
extremity  of  California,  he  pursued  his  voyage  along  the  coast 
towards  the  north.  In  this  direction  the  Spaniards  proceeded 
slowly,  often  landing  and  fighting  with  the  natives,  and  generally 
opposed  by  violent  storms  from  the  north-west,  until  the  end  of 
January,  1540,  when  they  had  reached  an  island  near  the  coast, 
under  tlie  28th  parallel  of  latitude,  which  they  named  the  Isle  of 

•  See  Narrative  of  Francisco  Preciado,  one  of  the  officers  of  the  Santa  Agueda,  in 
Ramusio,  vol.  iii.  p.  2B3,  and  in  Hakluyt,  vol.  iji.  p.  503. 


1540.] 


JOURNEY    OF    BRIAR   MARCOS    DE    NIZA. 


I  f 


la. 
in 
he 
Km 


Cedars.  There  they  remained  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  until 
the  beginning  of  April,  being  prevented  from  advancing  farther 
north  by  head  winds ;  and  then,  as  several  of  the  crews  of  both 
vessels  were  disabled  by  sickness,  and  their  provisions  were  insuf- 
ficient to  enable  them  to  continue  the  voyage  together  much  longer, 
UUoa  resolved  to  send  one  of  his  ships  back  to  Mexico.  The 
Santa  Agueda,  bearing  the  sick  and  the  accounts  of  the  discoveries, 
accordingly  sailed  from  the  Isle  of  Cedars  on  the  5th  of  April,  and 
in  the  beginning  of  the  following  month  she  arrived  at  Santiago,  in 
Xalisco,  where  she  was  seized  by  the  officers  of  the  viceroy,  who 
was  anxious  to  learn  the  particulars  of  her  discoveries.  Of  the  fate 
of  UUoa  there  are  contradictory  accounts.  Herrera  says  that 
nothing  was  ever  heard  of  him  after  his  parting  with  the  Santa 
Agueda ;  others  of  his  contemporaries,  however,  state  that  he  con- 
tinued his  voyage  along  the  west  coast  of  California,  as  far  as  a 
point  called  Cape  Engano,  near  the  30th  degree  of  latitude,  and 
thence  returned  safely  to  Mexico. 

Whatsoever  may  have  been  the  importance  of  the  geographical 
results  of  this  voyage,  they  were  scarcely  satisfactory  to  Cortes ;  and 
they  attracted  little  attention  among  the  Spaniards  in  Mexico,  who 
were  then  all  engaged  in  plans  and  speculations  concerning  the  rich 
and  delightful  countries,  of  the  discovery  of  which,  by  Friar  Marcos 
de  Niza  and  his  companions,  accounts  had  recently  arrived.  From 
these  accounts,  as  contained  in  the  letter  addressed  to  the  viceroy 
by  Friar  Marcos,*  and  from  other  evidence,  it  is  probable  that  the 
reverend  explorer  did  really  penetrate  to  a  considerable  distaiiof;  into 
the  interior  of  the  continent,  and  did  find  there  countries  pa*  tn  Hy 
cultivated,  and  inhabited  by  people  possessing  some  niquainti;  'e 
with  the  arts  of  civilized  life ;  though,  as  to  the  precise  situati o:i  ol 
those  regions,  or  the  routes  pursued  in  reaching  them,  no  Jcfiniie 
idea  can  be  derived  from  the  narrative.  The  friar  pr  ^  nded  to 
have  discovered,  north-west  of  Mexico,  beyond  the  35th  degree  of 
latitude,  extensive  territories,  richly  cultivated,  and  abounding  in 
gold,  silver,  and  precious  stones,  the  population  of  which  was  much 
greater,  and  farther  advanced  in  civilization,  than  those  of  Mexico 
or  Peru.  In  these  countries  were  many  towns,  and  seven  cities, 
of  which  the  friar  only  saw  one,  called  Cevola  or  Cibola,  containing 
twenty   thousand   large   stone   houses,  some  of  four  stories,  and 


in 


*  The  letter  of  Friar  Marcos,  relating  his  diBCoveries,  may  be  found  in  Raniusio, 
vol.  iii.  p.  397,  and  in  Hakluyt,  vol.  iii.  p  438.    See,  also,  Herrera,  Decade  vi.  p.  204. 

y 


fiS 


VOYAGE    OF    ALARCON. 


[1540. 


I 


adomed  with  jewels ;  yet  he  was  assured,  by  the  people,  that  this 
was  the  smallest  of  the  cities,  and  far  inferior,  in  extent  and  mag- 
nificence, to  one  called  Totonteac,  situated  more  towards  the  north- 
west. The  inhabitants  of  Cibola  had,  at  first,  been  hostile  to  the 
Spaniards,  and  had  killed  the  negro;  but  they  had,  in  the  end, 
manifested  a  disposition  to  embrace  Christianity  >  and  to  submit  to 
the  authority  of  the  king  of  Spain,  in  whose  name  Friar  Marcos 
had  taken  possession  of  the  whole  country,  by  secretly  erecting 
crosses  in  many  places. 

These,  and  other  things  of  a  similar  kind,  gravely  related  by  a 
respectable  priest,  who  professed  to  have  witnessed  what  he  described, 
were  universally  admitted  to  be  true ;  and  the  viceroy  Mendoza, 
having  communicated  them  to  his  sovereign,  began  to  prepare  lor 
the  reduction  of  the  new  countries,  and  the  conversion  of  their 
inhabitants  to  Christianity.  Cortes,  however,  insisted  on  continuing 
his  discoveries  in  the  same  direction,  apparently  giving  little  credit 
to  the  statements  of  Friar  Marcos  ;  while  his  old  companion  in  arms, 
the  redoubtable  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  claimed  to  undertake  the  con- 
quest in  virtue  of  a  capitulation  recently  concluded  between  himself 
and  the  emperor.  Hernando  de  Soto,  likewise,  who  had  just 
obtained  a  commission  for  the  discovery  of  Florida,  declared  the 
seven  cities  to  be  within  his  jurisdiction  ;  and  Nufio  de  Guzman 
protested  that  his  own  right  was  the  best,  and  ^■•ith  some  reason,  in 
consequence  of  his  labors  in  the  subjugation  and  settlement  of  New 
Galicia,  of  which  he  maintained  that  the  rich  countries  formed 
part.  After  these  disputes  had  lasted  some  niontlis,  a  compromise 
was  made  between  the  viceroy  and  Alvarado,  agreeably  to  which 
the  latter  was  to  command  the  expedition  de::,tincd  for  the  reduction 
of  the  rich  territories  in  the  north-west ;  and,  about  the  same  time, 
Cortes  returned  in  disgust  to  Spain,  where  he  passed  the  remaining 
seven  years  of  his  life  in  vain  efl'orts  to  recover  his  authority  in 
Mexico,  or  to  obtain  indemnification  for  his  losses. 

The  viceroy  Mendoza  had,  however,  immediately  on  receiving  the 
news  of  the  discoveries  from  Friar  Marcos,  sent  two  bodies  of  armed 
forces,  the  one  by  land,  the  other  by  sea,  to  reconnoitre  the  rich 
countries,  and  prepare  the  way  for  their  conquest. 

The  marine  armament  consisted  of  two  ships,  commanded  by 
Fernando  de  Alarcon,  who  sailed  from  the  port  of  Santiago  on  the 
9th  of  May,  1540,  and,  proceeding  along  the  coast  towards  the 
north-west,  reached  the  extremity  of  the  Gulf  of  California  in 
August  following.    There  he  discovered  a  great  river,  which  he 


1540.] 


EXPEDITION    OF    VAZ(iUEZ    DE    CORONADO. 


59 


tlic 
Incd 
Iricli 

by 
the 
Ithe 
in 
he 


t"i 


named  Rio  de  Nuestra  ScJiora  de  Buena  Guia,*  (or  River  of  our 
Lady  of  Safe  Conduct,)  probably  the  same  now  called  the  Colorado. 
This  stream  Alarcon  ascended,  to  the  distance  of  more  than  eighty 
leagues,  with  a  party  of  his  men,  in  boats,  making  inquiries  on  the 
way  about  the  seven  cities;  in  reply  to  which,  he  received  from 
the  Indians  a  number  of  confused  stories  —  of  kingdoms  rich  in 
precious  metals  and  jewels  —  of  rivers  filled  with  crocodiles  and  other 
monsters  —  of  droves  of  buffaloes — of  enchanters — and  other  won- 
derful or  remarkable  objects.  Of  Totonteac  he  could  learn  nothing ; 
though,  at  the  end  of  his  voyage  up  the  river,  he  obtained  what  he 
considered  some  definite  information  respecting  Cibola,  and  was 
assured  that  he  might  reach  that  place  by  a  march  of  ten  days  into 
the  interior.  He,  however,  suspected  treachery  on  the  part  of  those 
who  gave  the  assurance  ;  and,  not  conceiving  it  prudent  to  attempt 
to  advance  farther,  he  returned  to  his  ships.  In  a  second  voyage  up 
the  river,  he  obtained  no  additional  information ;  and,  believing  it 
needless  to  continue  the  search,  he  went  back  to  Mexico,  where  he 
arrived  before  the  end  of  the  ycar.f 

The  land  forces,  despatched  at  the  same  time  towards  the  north- 
west, were  composed  of  cavalry  and  infantry,  and  were  accompanied 
by  priests,  for  the  conversion  of  the  natives  to  Christianity.  They 
were  commanded  by  Francisco  Vazquez  de  Coronado,  a  man  of 
resolute  and  serious  character,  and  by  no  means  disposed  to  exag- 
gerate, who  had  been  appointed  governor  of  New  Galicia,  in  place 
of  Nuno  de  Guzman.  His  letter  to  the  viceroy,."]:  containing 
accounts  of  the  first  period  of  the  expedition,  though  wanting  in 
precision,  is  yet  sufiiciently  exact  to  aflbrd  a  general  idea  of  tlie 
direction  in  which  he  marched,  and  even  of  the  position  of  some  of 
the  principal  places  wh'ch  he  visited. 

*  In  honor  of  the  viceroy,  who  bore  on  his  arms  an  image  of  Kucstra  Sc'iora  de 
Buevd.  Guia. 

t  Letter  of  Alarcon  to  the  viceroy  Mcndoza,  in  Ramusio,  v^l.  iii.  p.  303,  and  in 
TIakhiyt,  vol.  iii.  p.  505.     See,  also,  Herrera,  Decade  vi.  p.  208. 

Tiu!  Californian  Gulf  had  thus  been  completely  explored,  as  appears  not  only 
from  tiie  accounts  of  the  voyairos  of  Ulloa  and  Alarcon,  bnt  also  from  a  chart  of  the 
coasts  of  California,  and  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  drawn,  in  1541,  by  Domingo  del 
(Castillo,  Alarcon's  pilot,  of  wliich  an  emrrnxod  ftic-i;imilc  may  be  found  in  the  edition 
of  the  Letters  of  Cortes,  published  at  Mexi(;o,  in  1770,  by  Archbishop  Lorenzana. 
The  shores  of  the  r^uK,  and  of  the  west  side  of  California,  to  the  30th  degree  of  lati- 
tude, are  there  delineated  with  a  surprising  approach  to  accuracy.  The  pilot  doubt- 
less derived  his  information  chiefly  fiom  the  journals  of  Ulloa,  which  were  sent  back 
in  the  Santa  Agucda,  and  were  seized,  by  order  of  the  viceroy,  immediately  on  the 
arrival  of  that  vessel  in  Mexico. 

t  Ramusio,  vol.  iii.  p.  300.     Hakluyt,  vol.  iii.  p.  447. 


60 


CIBOLA. 


[1540. 


Agreeably  to  this  letter,  the  Spaniards  left  Culiacan  on  the  22d 
of  April,  1540,  and  took  their  way  towards  the  north,  following,  as 
well  as  they  could,  the  course  described  by  the  friar :  but,  ere  they 
had  proceeded  far,  they  had  abundant  evidences  of  the  incorrect- 
ness of  the  accounts  of  that  personage ;  for  the  route  which  he  had 
represented  as  easy  and  practicable,  proved  to  be  almost  impassable. 
They,  however,  made  their  way  over  mountains  and  deserts,  and 
through  rivers,  and,  at  length,  in  July,  they  reached  the  country  of 
the  seven  cities,  for  which  Cibola  appeared  to  be  the  general  name ; 
but,  to  their  disappointment,  it  proved  to  be  only  a  half-cultivated 
region,  thinly  inhabited  by  people  not  absolutely  savage,  though 
destitute  of  the  wealth  and  refinement  attributed  to  them  by  Friar 
Marcos.  The  seven  great  cities,  were  seven  small  towns,  some  of 
them,  i)jdeed,  containing  large  houses  of  stone,  rudely  built,  and  un- 
ornanier^cd.  Of  fruits  there  were  none,  except  such  as  grew  wild ; 
and  tVti  iojrnense  quantities  of  precious  metals  and  stones  were 
m(  rely  a  few  turquoises,  and  some  gold  and  silver,  supposed  to  be 
jtooiL  1)!  fine,"  says  Vazquez  de  Coronado,  in  his  letter  to  the 
vicauov,  '•  of  the  seven  cities,  and  the  kingdoms  and  provinces  of 
which  th«;  (•  v-erend  father  provincial  made  a  ijport  to  your  excel- 
lency, he  vpoke  the  truth  in  nothing ;  for  we  have  found  all  to  be 
quite  the  contrary,  except  only  as  to  the  houses  of  stone."  The 
Spaniards,  nevertheless,  took  possession  of  the  country,  in  due  form, 
for  their  sovereign ;  and,  being  pleased  with  its  soil  and  climate, 
they  entreated  their  commander  to  allow  them  to  remain  and  settle 
there.  To  this  inglorious  proposition  Vazquez  refused  to  consent ; 
and,  having  despatched  his  letter  to  Mendoza,  from  one  of  the  cities 
of  Cibola,  named  by  him  Granada,  he  took  his  departure,  with  his 
forces,  for  the  north-west,  in  search  of  other  new  countries. 

From  the  descriptions  of  the  position,  climate,  productions,  and 
animals,  of  Cibola,  given  by  Vazquez  de  Coronado,  tlicre  is  some 
reason  for  believinr^  it  to  be  the  region  near  the  great  dividing 
chain  of  mountains,  east  of  the  northernmost  part  of  the  Gulf  of 
California,  about  the  head-waters  of  thf;  Rivers  Yaqui  and  Gila, 
which  fall  into  that  arm  of  the  Pacli-f .  This  part  of  America,  now 
called  Sonora,  (a  corruption  of  SeJlrm,)  though  ''^ng  since  settled  by 
the  Spaniards,  is  little  known  to  the  inhabitants  of  other  countries. 
It  is  described,  by  those  who  have  recently  visited  it,  as  a  most 
delightful,  productive,  and  salubrious  region,  containing  innumerable 
mines  of  silver  and  gold,  among  which  are  some  of  the  richest  in 
the  world.     There  are,  moreover,  in  that  territory,  many  collections 


1540—1543.] 


QUIVIRA. 


ei 


of 
lila, 
low 

by 

ics. 

iost 

Ible 

in 

>ns 


of  ruins  of  large  stone  buildings,  which  were  found  in  their  present 
state  by  the  first  Spanish  settlers,  and  are  called  casas  grandes  de 
los  Azteques,  (great  houses  of  the  Aztecks,)  from  the  supposi- 
tion or  tradition  that  they  were  built  by  that  people  before  their 
invasion  of  Mexico.*  Vazquez  de  Coronado,  indeed,  remarks  that 
the  inhabitants  of  Cibola,  though  not  wanting  in  intelligence,  did 
not  appear  to  be  capable  of  erecting  the  houses  which  he  saw  there. 

Of  the  movements  of  the  Spaniards,  after  they  quitted  Cibola, 
in  August,  1540,  the  accounts  are  so  vague  and  contradictory,  that 
it  is  impossible  to  trace  their  route.  It  seems,  however,  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  forces  soon  returned  to  Mexico ;  while  the  others, 
under  their  commander,  wandered,  for  nearly  two  years  longer, 
through  the  interior  of  the  continent,  in  search  of  a  country  called 
Quivira,  said,  by  the  Indians,  to  be  situated  far  in  the  north,  and  to 
be  governed  by  "  a  king  named  Tatarrax,  with  a  long  beard,  hoary- 
headed,  and  rich,  who  worshipped  a  cross  of  gold,  and  the  image 
of  the  Queen  of  Heaven."  f  This  country  they  found  near  the  40th 
degree  of  latitude :  but  the  people  had  no  other  wealth  than  skins ; 
and  their  king,  though  hoary-headed,  possessed  no  jewels,  "  save  one 
of  copper,  hanging  about  his  neck."  Q,uivira  is  described  as  a  level 
territory,  covered  with  herds  of  buffaloes,  which  form  the  whole 
support  of  the  inhabitants ;  and,  if  its  latitude  has  been  correctly 
reported,  it  is  most  probably  the  region  about  the  head-waters  of  the 
Arkansas  and  Platte  Rivers ;  though  Gomara  places  it  near  the  sea, 
and  says  that  the  Spaniards  saw  ships  on  the  coast,  laden  with 
East  India  goods.  Vazquez  had,  probably,  before  leaving  Quivira, 
learned  the  true  value  of  Indian  accounts  of  rich  countries ;  and, 
not  deeming  it  advisable  to  pursue  the  search  for  them  any  longer, 
he  returned  to  Mexico  in  1543. 

During  the  absence  of  Vazquez  de  Coronado,  the  great  arma- 
ment, destined  for  the  exploration  and  conquest  of  the  north-western 
territories,  under  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  was  prepared ;  but,  just  as 
the  expedition  was  about  to  be  commenced,  a  rebellion  broke  out 
among  the  Indians  of  Xalisco,  and  all  the  forces  at  the  viceroy's 
disposal  were  required  to  quell  it.  In  the  campaign  which  ensued, 
in  the  summer  of  1541 ,  Alvarado  was  killed  by  a  kick  from  a  horse  ; 
and  Mendoza's  expectations  of  advantage  from  the  north-west 
regions  were,  in  the  mean  time,  so  much  lowered,  that  he  resolved 
to  reduce  the  scale  of  his  expeditions  for  discovery  ui  that  quarter. 


m 


Hardy  s  Travels  in  Mexico,  from  1825  to  1328. 


t  Gomara,  chap.  213 


m 


.N^^-v 


62 


VOYAGE    OF    CABRILLO. 


[1542,  1543. 


i 


■ 


The  disturbances  being,  at  length,  ended,  in  the  spring  of  1542,  two 
vessels  were  placed  under  the  command  of  Juan  Rodriguez  CabriUo, 
a  Portuguese  of  high  reputation  as  a  navigator,  who  was  directed 
to  examine  the  western  side  of  California,  as  (ax  northward  as  pos- 
sible, seeking  particularly  for  rich  countries,  and  for  passages  leading 
towards  the  Atlantic ;  while  Ruy  Lopez  do  Villalobos,  a  relation  of 
the  viceroy,  was  sent,  with  the  rcmamder  of  the  disposable  vessels 
and  forces,  across  the  Pacific,  to  endeavor  to  form  establishments  in 
India. 

The  two  vessels  under  Cabrillo  sailed  together  from  Navidad,  a 
small  port  in  Xalisco,  in  June,  1542 ;  and,  having  in  a  few  days 
doubled  Cape  San  Lucas,  tlic  survey  of  the  west  coast  of  California 
was  begun  from  that  point.  It  would  be  needless  to  endeavor  to 
trace  the  progress  of  Cabrillo  along  this  coast,  or  to  enumerate  the 
many  capes  and  bays  mentioned  in  the  account  of  his  voyage, 
nearly  all  of  which  places,  so  far  as  they  can  be  identified,  arc  now 
distinguished  by  names  entirely  different  from  those  bestowed  on 
them  by  him.  By  the  middle  of  August,  he  had  advanced  beyond 
the  limits  of  the  supposed  discoveries  of  Ulloa ;  and,  in  November, 
after  having  examined  the  coast  as  far  north  as  the  38th  degree  of 
latitude,  he  was  driven  back,  and  forced  to  take  refuge  in  a  harbor 
named  by  him  Port  Possession,  situated  in  the  Island  of  Sail 
Bernardo,  one  of  the  Saiita  Barbara  group,  near  the  main  land, 
under  the  34th  parallel.  There  Cabrillo,  who  had  been  for  some 
time  sick,  sank  under  tiie  fatigues  of  the  voyage,  on  the  3d  of 
January,  1543,  leaving  tlie  command  to  the  pilot,  Bartolonie  Ferrclo. 

The  new  commander,  being  no  less  zealous  and  determined  than 
his  predecessor,  resolved,  if  possible,  to  accomplish  the  main  objects 
of  tlie  expedition  before  returning  to  Mexico.  He  accordingly, 
soon  after,  sailed  from  Port  Possession  towards  the  nortli,  and.  on 
the  26th  of  February,  reached  a  promontory  situated  under  the  41st 
])araliel.  to  which  he  gjive  the  name  of  CaLo  de  Fortunas,  (Ctipn 
of  Perils,  or  Stormy  Cape,)  from  tlie  dangers  encountered  in  its 
vicinity.  On  the  1st  of  March,  the  ships  wore  in  the  latitude  of 
44  degrees,  as  determined  by  a  solar  observation  ;  but,  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  they  were  ugiiin  driven  to  ♦lie  south ;  and,  the  men 
being,  at  this  time,  almost  worn  out,  by  long  exposure  to  cold  and 
fatigue,  without  sufficient  food  or  clothing,  Ferrrlo  determined  to  go 
hack  to  Mexico.  The  ships,  therefore,  quitted  the  Isle  of  Cedars, 
discovered  by  Ulloa,  in  the  beginning  of  April,  and,  on  the  14th  of 
that  month,  they  arrived  at  Navidad. 


1543.] 


EXPEDITION    OF    SOTO. 


63 


From  the  accounts  of  this  expediUon  which  have  been  preserved, 
it  is  not  easy  to  determine  precisely  how  far  north  the  American 
coast  was  discovered.  The  most  northern  point  of  land  mentioned 
in  those  accounts  is  the  Cape  of  Perils,  which,  though  there  placed 
under  the  41st  parallel,  was  probably  the  same  soon  after  called 
Caj)e  Mendocino,  in  the  latitude  of  40  degrees  20  minutes.  Other 
authors,  however,  whose  opinions  are  entitled  to  respect,  pronounce 
the  43d  parallel  to  bo  the  northern  limit  of  the  discoveries  made  by 
the  Spaniards  in  1543.* 

Wiiilst  these  expeditions  to  the  north-western  parts  of  America 
were  in  progress,  Hernando  de  Soto,  and  his  band  of  Spanish 
adventurers,  were  performing  their  celebrated  march,  in  quest  of 
mines  and  plunder,  through  the  regions  extending  north  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  which  were  then  known  by  the  general  name  of  Florida. 
Without  attempting  here  to  trace  the  line  of  their  wanderings, 
suffice  it  to  say,  that  they  traversed,  in  various  directions,  the  vast 
territories  now  composing  the  Southern  and  South- Western  States 
of  the  American  Federal  Union,  and  descended  the  Mississippi  in 
boats,  from  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  to  the  Mex- 
ican Gulf,  on  which  they  continued  their  voyage,  along  the  coast, 
to  Panuco.  From  the  accounts  of  the  few  who  survived  the  toils 
and  perils  of  that  memorable  enterprise,  taken  together  with  those 
collected  by  Cabeza-Vaca  and  Vazquez  de  Coronado,  concerning 
the  territories  which  they  had  respectively  visited,  it  was  considered 
certain  that  neither  wealthy  nations,  nor  navigable  passages  of  com- 
munication betivcen  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans,  were  to  he 
found  north  of  Mexico,  unless  beyond  the  40th  "parallel  of  latitude. 

The  Spaniards,  having  arrived  at  these  conclusions,  for  some  time 
desisted  from  attempting  to  explore  the  north  western  section  of 
the  continent;  and  circumstances,  meanwhile,  occurred,  which 
impressed  their  government  with  tiie  belief  that  the  discovery  of  any 
nassage  facilitating  the  entrance  of  European  vessels  into  the  Pacific, 
would  be  deleterious  to  the  power  and  interests  of  Spain  in  the  New 
World. 


*  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Goliano  and  Valdes,  p.  35. 
History  of  Voyages  in  the  Pacific,  vol.  i.  p.  220. 


See,  aJso,  Burney's 


64 


-'<fe       \ 


CHAPTER   II. 


1543  TO  1606. 


The  Spaniards  conquer  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  cstabliih  a  direct  Trade  acroas  the 
Pacific,  between  Asia  and  America  —  Measures  of  the  Spanish  Government  to 
prevent  other  European  Nations  from  nettling  or  trading  in  America  —  These 
Measures  resisted  by  the  English,  the  Prench,  and  the  Dutch  —  Free  Traders  and 
Freebooters  infest  the  West  Indies — First  Voyages  of  the  English  in  the  Pacific  — 
Voyages  of  Drake  and  Cavendish  —  Endeavors  of  the  English  to  discover  a  North- 
West  Passage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  —  False  Reports  of  the  Discovery 
of  such  Passages  —  Supposed  Voyages  of  Urdaiieta,  Maldonado,  and  Font6  — 
Voyage  of  Juan  de  Fuca  —  Expeditions  of  Sebastian  Vizcaino  —  Supposed  Dis- 
covery of  a  great  River  in  North- West  America. 


Whilst  the  Spaniards  were  thus  extending  their  dominion  in 
the  New  World,  the  Portuguese  were  daily  acquiring  advantages 
in  India,  with  which  they  carried  on  a  profitable  trade,  by  means  of 
their  ships  sailing  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  Spaniards, 
viewing  this  increase  of  the  power  of  their  rivals  with  jealousy  and 
hatred,  made  many  endcjivors,  likewise,  to  form  establishments  in 
Asia ;  but  all  their  expeditions  for  that  purpose  before  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  terminated  disastrously.  The  armaments 
sent  from  Spain  to  India  under  Loyasa,  in  1525,  and  from  Mexico, 
under  Saavcdra,  in  the  ensuing  year,  were  entirely  ineffective.  In 
1542,  Ruy  Lopez  de  Villalobos  crossed  the  Pacific  with  a  large 
squadron  from  Mexico,  and  took  possession  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
for  his  sovereign ;  but  his  forces  were  soon  after  dispersed,  and 
none  of  his  vessels  returned  either  to  Europe  or  to  America. 

In  1564,  the  Spaniards  made  another  attempt  to  gain  a  footing 
in  the  East  Indies,  which  was  successful.  The  Philippine  Islands 
were  in  that  year  subjugated  by  Miguel  de  Legazpi,  who  had  been 
despatched  from  Mexico  with  a  small  squadron  for  the  purpose ; 
and  a  discovery  was  also  made  in  the  course  of  this  expedition, 
without  which  the  conquest  would  have  been  of  no  value.  Before 
that  period,  no  European  had  ever  crossed  the  Pacific  from  Asia  to 
America;  all  who  had  endeavored  to  make  such  a  voyage  having 
confined  themselves  to  the  part  of  the  ocean  between  the  tropics 


I 


1564.]    IMPROVEMENTS    IN   THE    NATIQATION   07   THE    PAOiriO.         65 

where  (he  winds  blow  constantly  from  eastern  points.  Three  of 
Legazpi's  vessels,  however,  under  the  direction  of  Andres  de 
Urdaneta,  a  friar,  who  had  in  early  life  accompanied  Magellan  in 
his  expedition,  and  had  subsequently  acquired  great  reputation  aa 
a  navigator,  by  taking  a  northward  course  from  the  Philippine 
Islands,  entered  a  region  of  variable  winds,  near  the  40th  parallel 
of  latitude,  and  were  thus  enabled  to  reach  the  coast  of  California, 
along  which  the  prevailing  north-westers  carried  them  speedily  to 
Mexico. 

The  Spaniards  thus  gained,  what  they  had  so  long  coveted,  a 
position  in  the  East  Indies ;  and  the  practicability  of  coinmunicating, 
by  way  of  the  Pacific,  between  Asia  and  America,  s  placed 
beyond  a  doubt.  At  the  same  time,  also,  Juan  Fern  o  discov- 
ered the  mode  of  navigating  between  places  on  the  west  coast  of 
South  America,  by  standing  out  obliquely  to  a  distance  from  the 
continent ;  and  other  improvements  of  a  similar  kind  having  been 
moreover  introduced,  the  Spanish  commerce  on  the  Pacific  soon 
became  important.  Large  ships,  called  galleons,  sailed  annually 
from  Acapulco  to  Manilla,  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  to  Macao, 
in  China,  laden  with  precious  metals  and  European  merchandise,  in 
return  for  which  they  brought  back  silks,  spices,  and  porcelain,  for 
consumption  in  America,  or  for  transportation  over  the  Atlantic  to 
Europe ;  while  an  extensive  trade  in  articles  equally  valuable  was 
carried  on  between  Panama  and  the  various  ports  of  Peru  and 
Chili.  These  voyages  on  the  Pacific  were  usually  long,  but  com- 
paratively safe,  at  least  so  far  as  regards  exemption  from  injury  by 
winds  and  waves,  though  the  crews  of  the  vessels  often  suffered 
dreadfully  from  scurvy  occasioned  by  filth  and  want  of  good  water 
and  provisions ;  ''*'  and,  as  that  ocean  remained  for  some  years  undis- 
turbed by  the  presence  of  enemies  of  Spain,  little  care  or  cost  was 
bestowed  upon  the  defence,  either  of  the  vessels  or  of  the  towns  on 
the  coasts. 

The  galleons,  proceeding  from  Mexico  to  India,  were  wafted,  by 
the  invariable  easterly  or  trade  winds,  directly  across  the  ocean,  in 
about  three  months ;  in  the  return  voyage,  they  often  occupied 
more  than  double  that  time,  and  they  always  made  the  west  coast 
of  California,  the  principal  points  on  which  thus  became  tolerably 
well  known  before  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.    Accounts  of 

•  For  accounts  of  the  miseries  of  a  voyage  from  Manilla  to  Acapulco,  in  1697,  see 
Gemelli  Carreri's  narrative,  in  the  fourth  volume  of  Churchill's  collection  of  voyages, 
which,  if  not  true,  is  very  like  truth. 

9 


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'■ni^jfi    [1664. 


^ome  of  these  voyaget  have  been  preserved,  but  they  are  of  little 
talue  at  present,  from  their  want  of  precision.  One  of  them  is  a 
letter  from  Francisco  Qaii,  addressed  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico, 
describing  his  passage  from  Macao  to  Acapulco,  in  1584,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  sailed  along  the  west  coast  of  America,  from  the 
latitade  of  thirty-seven  and  a  half  degrees  southward  to  Mexico.* 
It  has,  however,  been  maintained,  on  the  evidence  of  papers  found 
in  the  archives  of  the  Indies,f  that  Grali  arrived  on  that  coast  in  the 
latitude  of  fifty-seven  and  a  half  degrees,  and  is  therefore  to  be 
considered  as  the  discoverer  of  the  whole  shore  between  that  par- 
allel and  the  forty-third:  but  this  assertion  is  supported  by  no 
evidence  sufficient  to  overthrow  the  express  Ltatement  of  the 
navigator  in  his  letter,  the  genuineness  of  which  is  not  denied ;  and 
Gali,  moreover,  there  declares  that  the  land  first  seen  by  him  was 
**very  high  and  fair,  and  tohoUy  vnthout  mow"  which  could  not 
have  been  the  case  with  regard  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America, 
uAder  the  parallel  of  fifty-seven  and  a  half  degrees,  in  the  middle 
of  October.  In  1595,  Sebastian  Cermenon,  in  the  ship  San 
Augustin,  on  his  viray  from  Manilla  to  Acapulco,  examined  the 
same  coasts,  by  order  of  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  in  search  of  some 
harbor  in  which  the  galleons  might  take  refuge,  and  make  repairs, 
or  obtain  water;  but  nothing  has  been  preserved  respecting  his 
voyage,  except  that  his  ship  was  lost  near  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco, 
south  oX  Cape  Mendocino. 

The  Spanish  government  was,  in  the  mean  time,  engaged  in 
devising,  and  applying  to  its  dominions  in  the  New  World,  those 
measures  of  restriction  and  exclusion,  which  were  pursued  so 
rigidly,  and  with  so  little  variation,  during  the  whole  period  of  its 
supremacy  in  the  American  continent.  The  great  object  of  this 
system  was  simply  to  secure  to  the  monarch  and  people  of  Spain 
Uie  entire  enjoyment  of  all  the  advantages  which  were  supposed  to 
be  derivable  from  those  dominions,  consistently  with  the  perpetual 
muntenance  of  absolute  authority  over  them ;  and,  for  this  object,  it 


*  In  Haklnyt,  vol.  iii.  p.  526,  the  letter  from  Gali  to  the  viceroy  ie  giveii  at  length, 
M  "translated  out  of  the  original  Spanish  into  Dutch,  by  John  Huyghen  Van 
Linschoten,  and  out  of  Dutch  into  English."  In  Linschoten,  as  in  Hakluyt,  thirty- 
Wvfen  ahd  a  half  degrees  is  gtren  as  the  northernmost  part  of  the  coast  seen  by  Gali. 

t  See  the  note  in  the  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes,  »X  page 
46,  in  which  two  letters  from  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  to  the  king  of  Spain,  relative 
to  the  voyage  of  Gali,  are  mentioned ;  but  the  account  there  given  differs  in  nothing, 
except  as  to  the  latitude,  from  that  in  the  letter  published  by  Linschoten  and  Hak- 
luyt. Humbo^'^t  adopts  the  opinion  of  the  author  of  the  Introduction,  without, 
however,  adding  any  information  or  reasoning  on  the  subject. 


mo.] 


9PANUB  aOVEBNHENT  Qf  AMEMCA. 


67 


was  deemed  expedient  not  only  to  exclude  the  subjects  of  other  Eyro- 
pean  states  from  the  territories  claimed  by  Spain,  —  that  i«,  from  the 
whole  of  the  New  World  except  Brazil, — but  also  to  prevent  the 
rapid  development  of  the  resources  of  the  Spanish  provinces  them- 
selves.* In  these  views  the  Spaniards  have  not  been  singular ;  but 
no  other  power,  in  modern  times,  has  employed  measures  so  extreme 
in  fulfiUing  them.  Thus  no  Spaniard  could  emigrate  to  America, 
no  new  settlement  could  be  formed  there,  and  no  new  country  or 
sea  could  be  explored,  without  the  express  permission  of  the  sov- 
ereign ;  and,  when  expeditions  for  discovery  were  made,  the  results 
were  often  concealed,  or  tardily  and  imperfectly  promulgated.  No 
article  could  be  cultivated  or  manufactured  for  commerce  in  Amer- 
ica, which  could  be  imported  from  Spain ;  and  no  intercourse  could 
be  carried  on  between  the  different  great  divisions  of  those  posses- 
sions, or  between  either  of  them  and  the  mother  country,  except  in 
vessels  belonging  to  or  specially  licensed  by  the  government,  or 
otherwise  under  its  immediate  superyision.  Witji  the  rest  of  the 
world,  the  Spanish  Americans  could  have  no  correspondence;  and 
all  foreigners  were  prohibited,  under  pain  of  death,  from  touching 
the  territories  claimed  by  Spain,  and  even  from  navigating  the  seas 
in  their  vicinity.  "Whoever,"  says  Hakluyt,  at  the  end  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  "is  conversant  with  the  Portugal  and  Spanish 
writers,  shall  find  th^at  they  account  all  other  nations  for  pirates. 


*  The  Spanish  dominions  in  America,  together  with  the  Canaiy  and  the  Philippine 
Islands,  formed  one  empire,  called  the  ItuUls,  of  which  the  king  of  Spain  was,  ex 
officio^  the  sovereign.  The  territories  were  divided  intb  great  sections,  or  kingdoms, 
each  entirely  independent  of  the  others,  except  in  certain  prescribed  contingencies , 
the  general  direction  of  the  whole  being  committed  to  the  Supreme  Council  cf  the 
Indies,  a  special  ministry,  residing  in  the  palace  of  the  king,  in  whose  name  all  its 
orders  were  issued.  The  larger  kingdoms  of  the  Indies  were  under  the  immediate 
government  of  viceroys,  representing  the  authority  and  person  of  the  sovereign ;  the 
others  were  governed  by  captains-general,  or  by  presidents,  whose  powers  were 
more  limited.  All  these  high  officers  were,  however,  kept  in  check  by  the  courts 
called  Audiencias,  resembling  the  Supreme  Council  in  their  organization  and 
attributes,  one  or  two  of  which  were  established  in  each  kingdom.  The  commerce 
of  those  countries  was  under  the  superintendence  of  a  board,  called  the  House  <ff 
Contracts  of  the  Indies,  sitting  at  Seville,  to  and  from  which  port  all  expeditions,  from 
and  to  America,  were,  for  a  long  time,  obliged  to  pass. 

The  laws  and  regulations  of  the  Supreme  Council  were,  from  time  to  time,  revised ; 
and  those  which  were  to  remain  in  force  were  published  in  a  collection  entitled  the 
Recopilacion  de  Leyes  de  Indias,  (Compilation  of  Laws  of  the  Indies,)  containing 
the  rules  for  the  conduct  of  all  the  officers  of  the  government.  'I)ve  provisions  of 
this  celebrated  code  are,  in  general,  remarkable  for  their  justice  and  humanity;  the 
enforcement  of  them,  being,  however,  left  to  those  who  had  no  direct  interest  in  the 
prosperity  and  advancement  of  the  country,  was  moat  shamefully  neglected. 


WkA   TBADKRS  and  rRBEBOOTIRS. 


[1570. 


roven,  and  thieves,  which  visit  any  heathen  coast  dut  they  have 
sailed  by  or  looked  on." 

Against  these  exclusive  regulations  the  English  and  the  French 
at  first  murmured  and  protested,  and  then  began  to  act.  The 
English  government,  having  thrown  off  its  allegiance  to  the  head  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  church,  denied  the  validity  of  the  Spanish 
claims  founded  on  the  papal  concessions,  and  required  from  Spain 
the  recognition  of  the  rights  of  Englishmen  to  navigate  any  part  of 
the  ocean,  to  settle  in  any  country  not  occupied  by  another  Chris- 
tian nation,  and  to  trade  with  the  Spanish  American  provinces. 
These  demands  having  been  resisted,  Queen  Elizabeth  *  openly,  as 
well  as  covertly,  encouraged  her  subjects,  even  in  time  of  peace,  to 
violate  regulations  which  she  pronounced  unjustifiable  and  inhuman ; 
and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  West  Indian  seas  were,  in  conse- 
quence, haunted  by  bands  of  daring  English,  who,  under  the 
equivocal  denominations  of  free  traders  and  freebooters,  set  at 
defiance  the  prohibitions  of  the  Spaniards,  as  to  conmierce  and 
territorial  occupation,  and  plundered  their  ships,  and  the  towns  on 
their  coasts.  About  the  same  time,  the  French  Protestants  began 
their  attempts  to  plant  colonies  in  Florida  and  Carolina,  which  were 
not  defeated  without  considerable  expenditure  of  Spanish  blood  and 
treasure ;  and  the  revolt  in  the  Netherlands,  which  ended  in  the 
liberation  of  the  Dutch  provinces,  soon  after  produced  a  formidable 
addition  to  the  forces  of  these  irregular  enemies  of  Spain.  The 
efforts  of  the  English,  and  of  their  government,  to  establish  com- 
merce with  the  Spanish  dominions  in  America,  have,  in  fact,  been 
the  principal  causes  or  motives  of  nearly  all  the  wars  between  those 
nations  since  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  these  efforts 
the  English  have  constantly  persevered ;  and  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment has  resolutely  opposed  them,  during  peace,  during  war,  and 


*  Queen  Elizabeth's  reply  to  the  Spanish  ambassador,  who  complained  of  the 
plunder  of  one  of  his  sovereign's  vessels  by  the  English,  in  the  West  Indies,  during 
peace  between  the  two  nations,  is  characteristic  of  her  disposition,  as  well  as  reason- 
able. She  said  "  that  the  Spaniards  had  drawn  these  inconveniences  upon  themselves, 
by  their  severe  and  unjust  dealings  in  their  American  commerce ;  for  she  did  not 
understand  why  either  her  subjects,  or  those  of  any  other  European  prince,  should 
be  debarred  from  traffic  in  the  Indies ;  that,  as  she  did  not  acknowledge  the  Spaniards 
to  have  any  title,  by  donation  of  the  bishop  of  Rome,  so  she  knew  no  right  they  had 
to  any  places  other  than  those  they  were  in  actual  possession  of;  for  th&t  their 
having  touched  only  here  and  there  upon  a  coast,  and  given  names  to  a  few  rivers 
or  capes,  were  such  insignificant  things  as  could  in  no  ways  entitle  them  to  a  pro* 
priety  farther  than  in  the  parts  where  they  actually  settled,  and  continued  to  inhabit." 
—  Camden's  Annals  of  Queen  Elisabeth's  Reign,  for  1580. 


1570.] 


ALARMS    AMD   PROHIBITIONS   Or   THE    SPANIARDS. 


69 


even  during  alliance  between  the  two  powers,  until  the  last  moment 
of  the  exihtence  of  the  Spanish  authority  in  the  American  continent. 

Could  Spain  have  so  long  retained  the  possession  of  her  colonies 
in  America,  if  she  had  adopted  any  other  system  with  regard  to 
them? 

The  Pacific  was,  for  some  years,  preserved  from  the  ravages  of 
these  daring  adventurers,  by  the  dread  of  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  attending  the  passage  of  vessels  into  that  ocean,  from  the 
Atlantic,  through  the  Strait  of  Magellan ;  and  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment began  to  regard  as  bulwarks  of  defence  those  natural 
obstacles  to  maritime  intercourse  between  Europe  and  the 
western  side  of  America,  to  remove  or  counteract  which  so  many 
efforts  had  been  previously  made.  Thenceforward,  the  expeditions 
of  the  Spaniards,  in  search  of  new  channels  connecting  the  two 
oceans,  were  undertaken  only  with  the  object  of  securing  the 
passage,  if  it  should  be  found,  against  the  vessels  of  other 
nations;  and  the  heaviest  penalties  were  denounced  against  all 
persons  who  should  attempt,  or  even  propose,  to  form  artificial 
communications  by  canals  across  the  continent.'"'  These  circum- 
stances, on  the  other  hand,  served  to  stimulate  the  enemies 
of  Spain  in  their  endeavors  to  discover  easier  routes  to  the  Pacific ; 
to  effect  which,  the  Dutch  and  the  English  navigators  perseveringly 
labored,  during  the  latter  years  of  the  sixteenth  and  the  beginning 
of  the  seventeenth  centuries. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  reports  of  the  extent  and  value  of  the 
Spanish  commerce  on  the  Pacific,  and  of  the  wealth  accumulated 
in  the  towns  on  the  American  coasts  of  'that  ocean,  overcame  all 
the  fears  of  the  English,  who  at  length  spread  their  sails  on  its 
waters,  and  carried  terror  and  desolation  along  its  coasts. 


*  Alcedo,  in  his  Geographical  and  Historical  Dictionary  of  the  West  Indies,  under 
the  head  Isthmus,  says,  "  In  the  time  of  Philip  II.,  it  was  proposed  to  cut  a  canal 
through  the  Isthmus  of  Panamd,  for  the  passage  of  ships  from  one  ocean  to  the 
other ;  and  two  Flemish  engineers  were  sent  to  examine  the  place,  with  that  object. 
They,  however,  found  the  obstacles  insuperable ;  and  the  Council  of  the  Indies  at 
the  same  time  represented  to  the  king  the  injuries  which  such  a  canal  would  occasion 
to  the  monarchy ;  in  consequence  of  which,  his  majesty  decreed  that  no  one  should 
in  future  aUempt,  or  men  propose,  such  an  undertaking,  under  pain  of  death." 

The  same  author,  speaking  of  the  River  Atrato,  in  New  Granada,  emptying  into 
the  Atlantic, — between  which  and  the  San  Jvan,  falling  into  the  Pacific,  it  was  also 
proposed  to  make  a  canal,  —  says,  "The  Atrato  is  navigable  for  many  leagues;  but 
all  persons  are  forbidden,  under  pain  of  death,  from  navigating  it,  in  order  to  prevent 
the  injuries  which  New  Grenada  would  sustain,  from  the  facility  thus  afforded  for 
entering  its  territory." 


TO 


•iOM. ',l,»,i 


A¥   i*    TOTAOB   or  SSiAKK. 


[16TT. 


The  first  irraption  of  the  English  into  the  Pacific  was  made  in 
1575,  by  a  party  of  fireebooters,  under  John  Oxenham,  who  crossed 
the  isthmus  a  little  west  of  Panama,  and,  having  then  built  a  vessel 
on  the  southern  side,  took  many  vduable  prizes  before  any  attempt 
could  be  made,  by  the  Spaniards,  to  arrest  their  progress.  They, 
however,  in  a  few  months,  fell  successively  into  the  hands  of  their 
enemies,  and  were  nearly  all  executed  with  ignominy  at  Panamk. 
Their  fall  was,  three  years  afterwards,  signally  avenged  by  another 
body  of  their  countrymen,  under  the  ccNonmand  of  the  greatest 
naval  captain  of  the  age.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  this 
captain  could  be  no  other  than  Francis  Drake,  of  whose  celebrated 
voyage  around  the  world  —  the  first  ever  performed  by  one  crew  in 
one  vessel — an  account  will  be  here  given,  as  he,  in  the  course 
of  it,  visited  the  north-west  side  of  America,  and  is  supposed, 
though  erroneously,  as  will  be  proved,  to  have  made  important 
discoveries  in  that  quarter. 

Drake  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  13th  of  December,  1577, 
with  five  small  vessels,  which  had  been  procured  and  armed  by 
himself  and  other  private  individuab  in  England,  ostensibly  for 
a  voyage  to  Egypt,  but  really  for  a  predatory  cruise  against  the 
dominions  and  subjects  of  Spain.  The  governments  of  England 
and  Spain  were  then,  indeed,  at  peace  with  each  other :  but  mutual 
hatred,  arising  from  causes  already  explained,  prevailed  between  the 
two  nations ;  and  the  principles  of  general  law  or  morals  were  not, 
at  that  period,  so  refined  as  to  prevent  Queen  Elizabeth  from  favor- 
ing Drake's  enterprise,  with  the  real  objects  of  which  she  was  well 
acquainted. 

For  some  months  after  leaving  England,  Drake  roved  about  the 
Atlantic,  without  making  any  prize  of  value :  he  then  refitted  his 
vessels  at  Port  San  Julian,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Patagonia ;  and 
he  succeeded  in  conducting  three  of  them  safely  through  the  dread- 
ed Strait  of  Magellan,  into  the  Pacific,  which  he  entered  in  Sep- 
tember, 1578.  Scarcely,  however,  was  this  accomplished,  ere  the 
little  squadron  was  dispersed  by  a  storm;  and  the  chief  of  the 
expedition  was  left  with  only  a  schooner  of  a  hundred  tons'  burden, 
and  about  sixty  men,  to  prosecute  his  enterprise  against  the  power 
and  wealth  of  the  Spaniards  on  the  western  side  of  America. 

Notwithstanding  these  disheartening  occurrences,  Drake  did  Yiot 
hesitate  to  proceed  to  the  parts  of  the  coast  occupied  by  the  Span- 
iards, whom  he  found  unprepared  to  resist  him,  either  on  land  or  on 
sea.     He  accordingly  plundered  their  towns  and  ships  with  little 


I 


Wt^.] 


w'iUdlU^ 


ttnrAOE  or  vBAm. 


{All  A' 


rr 


lUe 


difficnity ;  a!nd  M>  d^  flnd  laitiM^  was'tbe  impr«Mi<ttl>  prodiieed  hf 
his  dchievtfniAittr,  that,  for  more  than  a  centnrf  afteiwanlf,  hiS'  name 
T^s  never  mentioned  in  those  countries  without  exciting  feelings  <^ 
horror  and  detfestation.  '•'    '^ 

Atllength,  in  the  spring  of  1579;  Drake,  hating  completed  his 
visitation  of  the  Spanish  American  coasts,  by  tiie  plunder  of  the 
town  of  Guatulco,  on  the  south  side  of  Mexico,  and  filled  his  vessel 
with  precious  spoils,  became  anxious  to  return  to  England ;  but, 
having  reason  to  expect  that  the  Spaniards  would  intercept  him, 
if  he  should  attempt  to  repass  Magellan's  Strait,  he  resolved  to 
seek  a  northern  route  to  the  Atlantic.  Accordingly,  on  quitting 
Guatulco,  he  steered  west  and  north-west,  and,  having  sailed  in 
those  directions  about  1400  leagues,  he  had,  in  the  beginning  of 
June,  advanced  beyond  the  42d  degree  of  north  latitude,  where 
his  men,  being  thus  *'  speedily  come  out  of  the  extreme  heat,  found 
the  air  so  cold,  that,  being  pinched  with  Ihe  same,  they  complained 
of  the  extremity  thereof."^  He  had,  in  fact,  reached  the  part  of 
the  Pacific,  near  the  American  coasts,  where  the  winds  blow  con- 
stantly and  violently,  during  the  summer,  from  the  north  and  north- 
west,  accompanied,  generally,  by  thick  fogs,  which  obscure  the 
heavens  for  many  days,  and  even  weeks,  in  succession ;  and,  find- 
ing these  difficulties  increase,  as  he  went  farther,  "  he  thought  it 
best,  for  that  time,  to  seek  the  land."  He  accordingly  soon  made 
the  American  coast,  and  endeavored  to  approach  it,  so  as  to  anchor ; 
but,  finding  no  proper  harbor  there,  he  sailed  along  the  shore  south- 
ward, until  the  17th  of  the  mcmth,  when  f'  it  pleased  God  to  send 
him  into  a  fair  and  good  bay,  within  38  d^ees  towards  the  line."  * 

In  this  bay  the  English  remained  five  weeks,  employed  in  re- 
fitting their  vessel,  and  obtaining  such  supplies  for  their  voyage 
as  the  country  offered.  The  natives,  "  having  their  houses  cloi^e  by 
the  water's  side,"  at  first  exhibited  signs  of  hostility:  but  they 
were  soon  conciliated  by  the  kind  and  forbearing  conduct  of  the 
strangers;  and  their  respect  for  Drake  increased,  so  that,  when 
they  saw  him  about  to  depart,  they  earnestly  prayed  him  to  con- 
tinue among  them  as  their  king.  The  naval  hero,  though  not 
disposed  to  undertake,  in  person,  the  duties  of  sovereignty  over  a 

*  These  quotations  are  from  the  Famous  Voyage  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  by  Francis 
Pretty,  one  of  the  crew  of  Drake's  vessel,  written  at  the  request  of  Hakluyt,  and 
published  by  him  ia  1589.  It  is  a  plain  and  succinct  aecouat  of  what  the  writer  saw, 
or  believed  to  have  occurred,  during  the  voyage,  and  bears  all  the  marks  of  truth 
and  authenticity. 


DRAXX   MASK   KINO   OF   NKW   ALBION. 


[1679. 


tribe  of  naked  or  ikin-clad  aavages,  neverthelen  "thought  not 
meet  to  reject  the  crown,  because  he  knew  not  what  honor  or  profit 
it  might  bring  to  his  own  country ;  whereupon,  in  the  name,  and 
to  the  use,  of  her  majesty.  Queen  Elizabeth,  he  took  the  crown, 
sceptre,  and  dignity,  of  the  country  into  his  own  hands,  wishing 
that  the  riches  and  treasure  thereof  might  be  so  conveniently 
transported,  for  the  enriching  her  kingdom  at  home."  The  coro- 
nation accordingly  took  place,  with  most  ludicrous  solemnities, 
and  Drake  bestowed  on  his  dominions  the  name  of  New  AJhion. 

The  vessel  having  been  refitted,  Drake  erected  on  the  shore  a 
pillar,  bearing  an  inscription,  commemorating  the  fact  of  this 
cession  of  sovereignty ;  and,  on  the  22d  of  July,  he  took  leave  of 
his  worthy  subjects,  to  their  great  regret.  Having,  however,  by 
this  time,  abandoned  all  idea  of  seeking  a  northern  passage  to  the 
Atlantic,  he  sailed  directly  across  the  Pacific,  and  thence,  through 
the  Indian  Seas,  and  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to  England, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  26th  of  September,  1580. 

With  regard  to  the  harbor  on  the  North  Pacific  side  of  America, 
in  which  Drake  repaired  his  vessel,  nothing  can  be  learned  from 
the  accounts  of  his  expedition  which  have  been  published,  except 
that  it  was  situated  about  the  38th  degree  of  latitude,  and  that  a 
cluster  of  small  islets  lay  in  the  ocean,  at  a  short  distance  from 
its  mouth;  which  description  will  apply  equally  to  the  Bay  of 
San  Francisco,  and  to  the  Bay  of  Bodega,  a  few  leagues  farther 
north. 

As  to  the  extent  of  the  portion  of  the  north-west  coast  of 
America  seen  by  Drake,  the  accounts  differ.  Before  examining 
them,  it  should  be  first  observed,  that,  from  the  great  navigator  him- 
self, nothing  whatsoever  has  descended  to  us,  ei.uer  as  written  by 
him,  or  as  reported  by  others  on  his  authority,  respecting  his  voyage 
in  the  North  Pacific ;  on  the  circumstances  of  which,  all  the  informa- 
tion is  derived  from  two  narratives,  —  the  one  proceeding  entirely 
from  a  person  who  had  accompanied  Drake  in  his  expedition,  and 
published  in  1589,  during  the  life  of  the  hero,  —  the  other  compiled 
from  various  accounts,  and  not  given  to  the  world  until  the  middle 
of  the  following  century. 

In  the  first-mentioned  of  those  narratives,  called  the  Famous 
Voyage  from  which  the  preceding  quotations  are  made,  the  vessel 
is  represented  as  being  in  the  forty-third  degree  of  latitude  on  the 
fifth  of  June,  when  it  was  determined  to  seek  the  land ;  but  on 
what  day,  or  in  what  latitude,  the  coast  was  discovered,  is  not  stated, 


1679.]      PART   or   THB   NORTH-WEST   COAST   SEEN   BT  DRAKR.  73 

though  it  is  clear,  from  this  account,  that  the  part  first  seen  formed 
the  northernmost  point  of  tho  voyage  in  the  Pacific. 

In  the  other  narrative,  called  the  World  Encompassed,'"'  it  is  de- 
clared that,  on  the  third  of  June,  Drake's  vessel  reached  the  latitude 
of  forty-two  degrea,  where  tho  coldness  of  the  air  was  not  merely 
uncomfortable,  as  related  in  the  Famous  Voyage,  but  extremely  se- 
vere ;  so  that,  on  advancing  only  two  degrees  farther  north,  the  meat 
on  board  was  frozen,  as  soon  as  removed  from  the  fire,  and  the  rig- 
ging was  rendered  so  stiff  by  ice  as  to  require  double  the  number 
of  hands  to  manage  it.  The  men  were  in  consequence  much  dis- 
couraged and  disabled  ;  but  their  leader  persevered  in  his  course, 
until  the  ffth  of  the  month,  when  they  first  descried  the  American 
coast,  and  cast  anchor  in  a  "  bad  bay,"  in  latitude  of  forty-eight 
degrees.  The  winds  had  been,  in  the  mean  time,  blowing  con- 
stantly from  the  north  and  north-west ;  and,  whenever  their  violence 
abated,  the  atmosphere  was  immediately  filled  with  "  most  vile,  thick, 
and  stinking  fogs,"  which  continued  until  the  winds  resumed  their 
force,  "  with  such  extremity  and  violence,  when  they  came,  that 
there  was  no  dealing  or  resisting  against  them."  The  cold  had 
also  become  most  intense ;  and,  under  these  circumstances,  it  was 
determined  to  abandon  all  idea  of  going  farther  north.  They  ac- 
cordingly weighed  anchor,  and  ran  along  the  coast  to  the  south,  as 
far  as  the  latitude  of  thirty-eight  and  a  half  degrees,  where  they, 
on  the  seventeenth  of  the  month,  found  the  convenient  harbor  in 
which  their  vessel  was  refitted. 

Thus  the  two  narratives,  from  which  all  our  knowledge  of  Drake's 
voyage  in  the  North  Pacific  is  derived,  differ  widely  as  to  the  posi- 
tion of  his  vessel  on  the  fifth  of  June:  the  Famous  Vv  js>;c  placing 
her  on  that  day  in  the  forty-third  degree  of  latitude ;  while  the 
World  Encompassed  distinctly  states  that  on  the  same  day  she  first 
descried  the  American  coast,  and  anchored  near  it  in  the  forty- 
eighth  degree.  From  both  accounts  it  appears  that  the  land  first 
seen  formed  the  northernmost,  and  the  harbor  in  the  latitude  of 
thirty-eight  degrees  the  southernmost  points  on  the  coast  observed ; 

*  ••  The  World  Eneompaiged  by  Sir  Francis  Drake,  collected  oat  of  the  Voyage  of 
Mr.  Francii  Fletcher,  Preacher,  in  this  Employment,  and  compared  with  divers  oth- 
ers' Notes  that  went  in  tho  same  Voyage."  It  is  a  long  and  difTuse  account  of  the 
expedition,  containing  little  of  importance  that  is  not  related  in  the  Famous  Voyage, 
fVom  which  many  sentences,  and  even  paragraphs,  are  taken,  in  the  same  or  nearly 
the  samA  words ;  and  abounding  in  dull  speculations,  intermingled  with  absurd  false- 
hoods. It  is  supposed  to  have  been  compiled  by  a  nephew  of  the  navigator,  and  was 
first  published  in  1638.  The  edition  here  used  is  that  of  1652.  It  maybe  also  found 
in  the  folio  ooUeotion  of  voyages,  published  by  Osborn  in  1746,  vol.  ii.  p.  434. 

10 


74 


THE    WORLD    ENC0MPA8IED,    BY    flIR   FRANCIS    DRAKE. 


[1579. 


and  the  question  is,  therefore,  ai  to  the  latitude  of  tlio  northemmoit 
point.  Of  Drake's  contemporaries,  Hakluyt,  his  most  ardent  ad- 
mirer, and  ever  willing  to  support  to  their  utmost  extent  the  claims 
of  his  countrymen  as  discoverers,  repeatedly  mentions  the  forty- 
third  degree  as  the  northern  limit  of  this  voyage  in  the  Pacific ;  in 
which  he  is  confirmed  by  Camden  and  Purchas:  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  gallant  John  Davis,  the  laborious  antiquary  Stowe, 
and  Sir  William  Monson,  represent  Drake  as  the  first  explorer  of 
the  whole  line  of  American  coast  bordering  upon  that  ocean,  be- 
tween the  parallels  of  thirty-eight  and  a  half  and  forty-eight  degrees. 
The  former  opinion  is  maintained  by  every  other  writer  of  reputa- 
tion, including  De  Laet,  Ogilby,  Ileylin,  Locke,  Burchett,  Lediard, 
and  Dr.  Johnson,  anterior  to  1750,  when  the  idea  that  Drake 
reached  the  forty-eighth  degree  was  revived  in  the  life  of  the 
navigator,  contained  in  the  Biographia  Britannica,  and,  since  that 
period,  it  has  been  considered  generally  as  established. 

Now,  without  entering  into  an  examination  of  the  opinions  or 
assertions  thus  advanced  on  either  side  of  the  question,  it  will  be 
observed  that  opinions  and  assertions,  on  matters  of  fact,  are  of 
weight  in  history  only  so  far  as  they  proceed  from  witnesses  of  the 
circumstances,  or  are  based  on  the  evidence  of  such  witnesses. 
Statements  which  directly  involve  physical  impossibilities  ce^inot 
be  received  as  evidence  —  at  least  in  the  afluirs  of  modern  times. 
Nay,  more ;  statements,  even  when  conformable  with  probability,  if 
accompanied  by  others,  made  on  the  same  authority,  which  involve 
physical  impossibilities,  are  uniformly  rejected  when  offered  as 
evidence  in  courts  of  justice  ;  and  although  the  historian  is  bound 
by  rules  less  rigid,  yet  he  should  always  regard  statements  so  accom- 
panied with  great  suspicion,  in  all  cases.  Now,  the  accounts,  in  the 
World  Encompassed,  of  the  extremity  of  the  cold  on  the  Pacific 
coast  of  America,  between  the  thirty-eighth  and  the  forty-eighth 
degrees  of  north  latitude,  in  the  months  of  June  and  July,  are  so 
entirely  at  variance  with  all  now  known  of  the  climate  of  those 
regions  at  that  season,  that  they  can  bo  viewed  in  no  other  light 
than  as  direct  and  absolute  falsehoods.  That  men,  suddenly  trans- 
ferred to  those  latitudes  from  the  torrid  zone,  would  And  the  change 
of  temperature  disagreeable,  is  certain ;  but  the  freezing  of  meat 
and  rigging,  and  other  positive  effects  of  extreme  cold,  related  in 
that  narrative,  could  not  possibly  have  taken  place  under  the  cir- 
cumstances represented ;  and  no  testimony  containing  such  ac- 
counts would  be  received  as  evidence  in  any  transaction. 

But,  apart  from  the  vitiation  of  the  evidence  of  the  World  En- 


1579.]         DRAKE   DID   NOT   00  feCTOND   THE   43d   DEGREE. 


76 


cir- 
ac- 


compassed,  produced  by  these  absurd  stories,  the  statement  in  that 
narrative,  that  Drake's  vessel  reached  the  forty-eighth  degree  of 
latitude,  itself  involves  inseparably  what  is  so  directly  contrary  to 
all  experience,  that  it  may  be  safely  pronounced  a  physical  impossi- 
bility. The  vessel  is  there  distinctly  declared  to  have  been  in  the 
forty-second  degree  of  latitude  on  the  third  of  June,  and  to  have 
anchored,  on  the  fifth,  in  the  forty-eighth  degree  —  that  is,  to  have 
sailed  northward,  through  six  degrees  of  latitude,  in  two  days,  with 
the  winds  blovnng  constantly,  and  often  violently,  as  repeatedly  men- 
tioned in  the  narrative,  from  the  north  and  north-west.  Will  any 
naval  man  risk  his  reputation,  by  affirming  the  possibility  of  per- 
forming such  a  passage,  in  any  vessel  propelled  by  sails  ? 

In  conclusion  —  it  seems  to  be  established,  by  sufficient  testimo- 
ny, that  Drake  did,  in  the  summer  of  1579,  refit  his  vessel  in  a  harbor 
on  the  west  coast  of  North  America,  near  the  thirty-eighth  degree  of 
latitude  ;  but  stronger  evidence  than  has  been  yet  presented  is  re- 
quired to  establish  the  probability  that  he  saw  any  part  of  that  coast 
north  of  the  forty-third  parallel;  that  is  to  say,  north  of  the  point 
to  which  it  had  been  explored  by  the  Spaniards  in  1543.'"' 

*  This  question  has  been  examined  most  fully  by  fiurney,  in  the  first  volume  of 
his  History  of  Voyages  in  the  South  Sea,  published  at  London  in  1803,  in  which 
he  pronounces  that  "the  part  of  the  coast  discovered  by  Drake  is  to  be  reckoned 
as  beginning  immediately  to  the  north  of  Cape  Mendocino,  and  extending  to  the 
forty-eighth  degree  of  latitude  ;  "  and  Barrow,  in  his  Life  of  Drake,  published  in 
1844,  makes  the  same  assertion,  without  intimating,  in  any  way,  that  any  question 
had  been  raised,  or  could  be  raised,  on  the  subject.  Burney,  determined  to  estab- 
lish his  conclusion,  carefully  avoids  every  thing  which  could  invalidate  the  testi- 
mony of  the  World  Encompassed;  and,  with  regard  to  the  accounts  of  the  cold,  be 
merely  says  that  the  season  at  which  Drake  visited  the  North  Pacific  was  probably 
unusually  severe.  Barrow,  however,  rejects  all  these  accounts  as  "  absurd  and 
utterly  incredible,"  and  "in  direct  contradiction  to  the  usual  ordination  of  nature." 

In  the  Sloane  collection,  in  the  British  Museum,  is  a  manuscript,  purporting  to 
be  a  copy  of  the  journal  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Fletcher,  from  which  the  World  En- 
compassed is  declared  to  have  been  chiefly  compiled,  made  by  John  Conyers. 
Burney  consulted  this  manuscript,  and  refers  to  it  in  confirmation  of  his  accounts 
of  Drake's  proceedings  in  the  South  Pacific.  Barrow  cites  it  as  authority,  not  only 
with  regard  to  those  proceedings,  but,  also  and  especially,  as  to  the  circumstances 
of  the  navigator's  visit  to  the  north-west  coast  of  .America.  Now,  what  will  be 
thought  of  Mr.  Barrow ;  what  reliance  can  be  placed  in  his  good  faith,  when  we 
learn,  as  directly  charged  by  the  Edinburgh  Review,  in  October,  1844,  and  never 
answered,  that  the  said  manuscript  ends  with  the  arrival  of  Drake  on  the  coast  of 
Chili,  in  the  latter  part  of  l.TOB,  and  contains  not  one  word  respecting  the  JVorth 
Pacific,  or  its  coasts?  Truth  never  requires  tricks  for  its  support.  Twiss,  in  his 
Oregon  Question  Examined,  published  at  London,  in  1846,  admits,  afler  some  little 
straining,  the  whole  account  in  the  World  Encompassed ;  and,  in  confirmation  of 
its  statements,  as  to  the  cold,  he  adduces  the  fact,  that  the  north  winds,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  summer,  bring  down  the  atmosphere,  at  JVeio  Orleans,  to  the  temperature 
of  winter .' .'    How  strong  is  faith  when  interest  bids  us  to  believe  ! 


OAnilDISH  S    ■XPCDITION. 


[1578. 


I    f. 


llie  lucceii  of  Drake's  enterpriie  encouraged  other  Engliih 
adventurers  to  attempt  similar  expeditions  through  the  Straits  of 
Magellan ;  and  it  stimulated  the  navigators  of  his  nation  in  their 
efforts  to  discover  northern  passages  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Of 
their  predatory  excursions,  none  were  attended  with  success,  except 
that  of  the  famous  Thomas  Cavendish,  or  Candish,  who  rendered 
his  name  almost  as  terrible  to  the  Spaniards  as  that  of  Drake,  by 
his  ravages  on  the  west  coasts  of  America,  during  his  voyage  of 
circumnavigation  of  the  globe,  in  1587.  In  this  voyage.  Cavendish 
lay,  for  some  time,  near  Cape  San  Lucas,  the  southern  extremity 
of  California,  and  there  captured  the  Manilla  galleon  Santa  Anna, 
on  her  way,  with  a  rich  cargo  of  East  India  goods,  to  Acapuico, 
which  he  set  on  fire,  after  plundering  her,  and  landing  her  crew  on 
the  coast.  The  unfortunate  Spaniards,  thus  abandoned  in  a  desert 
country,  must  soon  have  perished,  had  they  not  succeeded  in 
repairing  their  vessel,  which  was  driven  ashore  near  them,  after  the 
extinction  of  the  flames  by  a  storm,  and  sailing  in  her  to  a  port  on 
the  opposite  coast  of  Mexico.  Among  these  persons  were  Juan 
de  Fuca  and  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  of  each  of  whom  much  will  be 
said  in  this  chapter. 

About  this  time,  the  search  for  northern  passages  of  communi- 
cation between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans  was  begun  by 
the  English ;  *  and  it  was  prosecuted  at  intervals,  by  the  navigators 
of  that  nation  and  of  Holland,  during  nearly  sixty  years,  after 
which  it  was  abandoned,  or  rather  suspended.  In  the  course  of 
the  voyages  undertaken  for  this  object,  eastward  as  well  as  west- 
ward from  the  Atlantic,  many  important  geographical  discoveries 
and  improvements  in  the  art  and  science  of  navigation  were 
effected ;  and  the  persons  thus  engaged  acquired  an  honorable  and 
lasting  reputation,  by  their  skill,  perseverance  against  difficulties, 
and  contempt  of  dangers.  The  Spanish  government  was,  at  the 
same  period,  according  to  the  direct  testimony  derived  from  its 
official  acts,  and  the  accounts  of  its  historians,  kept  in  a  state  of 
constant  alarm,  by  these  efforts  of  its  most  determined  foes  to 
penetrate  into  an  ocean  of  which  it  claimed  the  exclusive  posses- 
sion ;  and  the  uneasiness  thus  occasioned  was,  from  time  to  time, 
increased,  by  rumors  of  the  accomplishment  of  the  dreaded 
discovery. 

These  rumors  were,  for  the  most  part,  in  confirmation  of  the 

*  The  first  voyage  made  from  England,  with  the  expreia  object  of  leeking  a  north 
weat  paaaage  to  the  Pacific,  waa  that  of  Martin  Fiobiaher,  in  1676. 


1660.] 


UPOBTRP  DIIOOVERT  Or  UmOAftcTA. 


77 


,1 


existence  of  the  panago  called  the  Strait  of  Anion,  joining  the 
Atlantic,  under  the  60th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  through  which 
Cortoroal  wai  Miid  to  have  lailod,  in  1500,  into  a  great  western  sea ; 
and  those  who  pretended  to  have  made  northern  voyages  from  either 
ocean  to  the  other,  generally  assorted  that  they  had  passed  through 
the  Strait  of  Anian.  The  accounts  of  all  such  voyages  yet  made 
public  are  now  known  to  bo  as  false,  with  regard  to  the  principal 
circumstances  related,  as  thoso  of  the  discovery  of  the  philosopher's 
stone  and  the  elixir  vito),  current  at  the  same  period  in  Europe ; 
and  the  former,  like  the  latter,  had  their  origin,  generally,  in  the 
knavery  or  the  vanity  of  their  authors,  though  some  of  them  were 
evidently  mere  fictions,  invented  for  the  purpose  of  exercising 
ingenuity,  or  of  testing  tho  credulity  of  the  public.  But,  as  the 
conviction  of  the  possibility  of  transmuting  all  other  metals  into 
gold,  and  of  prolonging  life  indefmitely,  led  to  the  knowledge  of 
many  of  the  most  important  facts  in  chemistry,  so  did  the  belief  in 
the  existence  of  a  north-west  passage  from  the  Atlantic  to  tite 
Pacific  servo  to  accelerato  the  progress  of  geographical  discovery 
and  scientific  navigation. 

Among  thoso  who  were  earliest  believed  to  have  accomplished 
northern  voyages  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  or  vice  versa,  was 
the  celebrated  Friar  Andres  do  Urdaneta,  the  discoverer  of  the  mode 
of  navigating  the  Pacific  from  east  to  west.  "  One  Salvatierra,  a 
gentleman  of  Victoria,  in  Spain,  that  came  by  chance  out  of  the 
West  Indies  into  Ireland,  in  1568,"*  there  assured  Sir  Humphrey 
Gilbert  and  Sir  Henry  Sydney,  that  Urdaneta  had,  more  than 
eight  years  previous,  told  him,  in  Mexico,  "  that  he  came  from  Mar 
del  Sur  [the  Pacific]  into  Germany  through  the  northern  passage, 
and  showed  Salvatierra  a  sea-card,  [chart,]  made  by  his  own  expe- 
rience and  travel  in  that  voyage,  wherein  was  plainly  set  down  and 
described  tho  north-west  passage."  This  was,  however,  most  proba- 
bly, a  falsehood  or  amplification  on  the  part  of  Salvatierra,  to  induce 
Sir  Humphrey  to  employ  him  on  a  voyage  which  he  then  projected, 
as  nothing  appears  in  the  history  or  character  of  Urdaneta  to  justify 
the  belief  that  ho  would  have  made  such  a  declaration.  In  the 
archives  of  tho  Council  of  the  Indies,f  which  have  been  examined 


*  "  A  Diicourie  to  provA  a  Pansnge  by  the  North-West  to  Cathaia  [China]  and  tho 
East  Indies,  by  Hir  liiiin|ihroy  (iiUii-rt,"  first  published  in  1576,  and  republished  by 
Hakluyt,  in  his  "  Voyn|{**N,  Navigations,  Traffics,  and  Discoveries,  of  the  English 
Nation."    8ee  tho  r(>print  of  Hakluyt,  vol.  iii.  p.  32. 

t  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Oaliano  and  Valdes,  p.  36. 


78 


PBETENDED  VOTAGE  OF  HALDONADO. 


[1588. 


with  reference  to  this  matter,  are  many  original  papers  by  Urdaneta, 
in  which  he  mentions  a  report,  that  some  Frenchmen  had  sailed 
from  the  Atlantic,  beyond  the  70th  degree  of  north  latitude,  through 
a  passage  opening  into  the  Pacific,  n"r.r  the  50th  degree,  and  thence 
to  China;  and  he  recommends  that  measures  should  be  taken, 
without  delay,  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  report,  and,  if  the 
passage  should  be  found,  to  establish  fortifications  at  its  mouth,  in 
order  to  prevent  other  nations  from  using  it  to  the  injury  of 
Spain. 

In  1574,  an  old  pilot,  named  Juan  Ladrillero,  living  at  Colima, 
in  Mexico,  pretended  that  he  had,  in  his  youth,  sailed  through  a 
passage,  from  the  Atlantic,  near  Newfoundland,  into  the  Pacific ; 
and  other  assertions,  to  the  same  effect,  were  made  by  various  other 
individuals,  either  from  a  desire  to  attract  notice,  or  with  the  view 
of  obtaining  emolument  or  employment. 

The  most  celebrated  fiction  of  this  class  is  the  one  of  which 
Lorenzo  Ferrer  de  Maldonado  is  the  hero.  This  person,  a  Portu- 
guese by  birth,  who  had  written  some  extravagant  works  on 
geography  and  navigation,  and  pretended  to  have  discovered  a 
magnetic  needle  without  variation,  presented  to  the  Council  of  the 
Indies,  in  1609,  a  memoir  or  narrative  of  a  voyage  from  Lisbon  to 
the  Pacific,  through  seas  and  channels  north  of  America,  which  he 
declared  that  he  himself  had  accomplished  in  1588,  accompanied 
by  a  petition  that  he  should  be  rewarded  for  his  services,  and  be 
intrusted  with  the  command  of  forces,  to  occupy  the  passage,  and 
defend  its  entrance  against  other  nations.  This  proposition  was 
instantly  rejected  by  the  Council :  but  some  of  the  papers  relating 
to  it  were  retained ;  and  two  manuscripts  are  now  preserved,  the 
one  in  the  library  of  the  duke  of  Infantado,  at  Madrid,  the  other 
in  the  Ambrosian  library,  at  Milan,  each  purporting  to  be  the  origi- 
nal memoir  presented  by  Maldonado. 

These  papers  are  each  entitled  "  A  Relation  of  the  Discovery  of  the 
Strait  of  Anian,  made  by  me.  Captain  Lorenzo  Ferrer  de  Maldonado, 
in  the  Year  1588  :  in  which  is  described  the  Course  of  the  Navigation, 
the  Situation  of  the  Place,  and  the  Manner  of  fortifying  it ;  "  and 
their  contents  are  nearly  the  same,  except  that  the  Milan  paper 
is,  in  some  places,  more  concise  than  the  other,  from  which  it  seems 
to  have  been,  in  a  manner,  abridged.  Upon  the  whole,  there  is 
reason  to  believe  the  Madrid  document  to  be  a  true  copy  of  the 
memoir  presented  by  Maldonado ;  thougli  it  has  been  pronounced, 
by  one  who  has  examined  the  subject  with  much  care,  to  be  a 


\ 


1588.] 


PRETENDED  VOTAQfi  Or  MALDOKADO. 


79 


fabrication  of  a  later  date.*  Whether  the  fabrication,  as  it  un- 
doubtedly is,  proceeded  from  Maldonado,  or  from  some  other 
person,  is  of  no  importance  at  the  present  day.  A  few  extracts 
will  serve  to  show  its  general  character,  and  to  bring  to  view  the 
opinions  entertained  in  Europe,  during  the  seventeenth  century, 
with  regard  to  the  northern  parts  of  America. 

After  stating  the  advantages  which  Spain  might  derive  from  a 
northern  passage  between  the  two  oceans,  and  the  injury  which  she 
might  sustain,  were  it  left  open  to  other  nations,  Maldonado  proceeds 
thus  to  describe  the  voyage : — 

"Departing  from  Spain,  —  supposo  from  Lisbon, — the  course 
is  north-west,  for  the  distance  of  450  leagues,  when  the  ship  will 
have  reached  the  latitude  of  60  degrees,  where  the  Island  of 
Friesland  f  will  be  seen,  commonly  called  File,  or  Fule :  it  is  an 
island  somewhat  smaller  than  Ireland.  TIjence  the  course  is  west- 
ward, on  the  parallel  of  60  degrocH,  for  180  leagues,  which  will 
bring  the  navigator  to  the  land  of  Lobrodor,  where  the  strait  of  that 
name,  or  Davis's  Strait,  begins,  the  entrance  of  which  is  very  wide, 
being  somewhat  more  than  30  leagues :  the  land  on  the  coast  of 
Labrador,  which  is  to  the  west,  is  very  low ;  but  the  opposite  side 
of  the  mouth  of  the  strait  consists  of  very  high  mountains.  Here 
two  openings  appear,  between  which  are  these  high  mountains. 
One  of  the  passages  runs  east-north-east,  and  the  other  north- 
west ;  the  one  running  cast-north-euHt,  which  is  on  the  right  hand, 
and  looks  towards  the  north,  must  be  left,  as  it  leads  to  Greenland, 
and  thence  to  the  Sea  of  Friesland.  Taking  the  other  passage,  and 
steering  north-west  80  leagues,  the  ship  will  arrive  in  the  latitude 

*  See  a  review,  supposed  to  bo  written  Ity  Jlurrow,  of  the  manuscript  found  at 
Milan  by  Carlo  Amoretti,  in  tho  London  Qiiiirtcrly  Kcview  for  October,  1816.  A 
translation  of  the  most  material  |mrtH  of  that  ptipfr  may  be  found  in  Burney's 
History  of  Voyages  in  tho  Pacific,  vol.  T),  p,  I(i7.  A  trnnMlatlon  of  the  whole  of  the 
Madrid  document,  with  copies  of  tho  ninpH  itnd  plnns  annexed  to  it,  is  given  by 
Barrow,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  Chronologiciil  llintnry  of  Voyages  in  the  Arctic 
Regions.  See,  also,  the  Introduction  to  tlii<  Joiirnnl  of  Galiano  and  Valdes,  p.  49. 
The  reviewer  above  mentioned  "suHp(!ct»t  tliin  pretended  voyage  of  Maldonado  to  be 
the  clumsy  and  audacious  forgery  of  Bonit!  ignoriint  German,  from  the  circumstance 
of  15  leagues  to  the  degree  being  used  in  Home  of  tho  computations;"  but  the 
courses  ore  not  laid  down  with  ho  inueh  exuetncHH  in  tiio  account,  as  to  warrant  the 
assertion  that  15  leagues  are  employed,  inMteiid  of  !7i,  which  would  have  been  the  true 
subdivision  of  the  degree  of  latitude  in  Hpiininh  leagues. 

t  An  island  of  this  name  was  long  HuppoHed  to  exist  near  the  position  here  assigned 
to  it,  on  the  faith  of  an  apocryphal  iiceouiit  of  Mome  voyages  which  were  said  to 
have  been  made  in  the  North  Atlantic  about  tlii'  year  1400,  by  the  brothers  Antonio 
and  Nicolo  Zeno,  of  Venice.  Friesland  iiOM  boon,  by  sonie,  considered  as  identical 
with  the  Feroe  Islands. 


I 

1 


80 


PRETCMSID   VOTAGE    OT   MAI/DOMAOa. 


[1588. 


of  64  degrees.  There  the  strait  takes  another  turn  to  the  north, 
continuing  120  leagues,  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  70  degrees,  when 
it  again  turns  to  the  north-west,  and  runs  in  that  direction  90  leagues, 
to  the  75th  degree  of  latitude,  near  which  the  whole  of  the  Strait 
of  Labrador  will  have  been  passed ;  that  is  to  say,  the  strait  begins 
at  60  degrees,  and  ends  at  75  degrees,  being  290  leagues  in  length. 

"  Having  cleared  the  Strait  of  Labrador,  we  began  to  descend 
from  that  latitude,  steering  west-south-west,  and  south-west,  350 
leagues,  to  the  71st  degree  of  latitude,  when  we  perceived  a  high 
coast,  without  being  able  to  discover  whether  it  was  part  of  the  con- 
tinent, or  an  island ;  but  we  remarked  that,  if  it  were  the  continent, 
it  must  be  opposite  the  coast  of  New  Spain.  From  this  land  we 
directed  our  course  west-south-west  440  leagues,  until  we  came  to 
the  60th  degree,  in  which  parallel  we  discovered  the  Strait  of  Anian. 

"^'The  Strait  of  Anian  is  15  leagues  in  length,  and  can  easily  be 
passed  with  a  tide  lasting  six  hours ;  for  those  tides  are  very  rapid. 
There  are,  in  this  length,  six  turns,  and  two  entrances,  which  bear 
from  each  other  north  and  south.  The  entrance  on  the  north  side 
is  less  than  half  a  quarter  of  a  league  in  width,  and  on  each  side 
are  ridges  of  high  rocks ;  but  the  rock  on  the  side  of  Asia  is  higher 
and  steeper  than  the  other,  and  hangs  over,  so  that  nothing 
falling  from  the  top  can  reach  its  base.  The  entrance  into  the 
South  Sea,  near  the  harbor,  is  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  league  in 
width,  and  thence  the  passage  runs  in  an  oblique  direction,  increas- 
ing the  distance  between  the  two  coasts.  In  the  middle  of  the 
strait,  at  the  termination  of  the  third  turn,  is  a  great  rock,  and  an 
islet,  formed  by  a  rugged  rock,  three  estadias  [about  one  thousand 
one  hundred  feet]  in  height,  more  or  less ;  its  form  is  round,  and  its 
diameter  may  be  200  paces ;  its  distance  from  the  land  of  Asia  is 
very  little ;  but  the  sea,  on  that  side,  is  full  of  shoals  and  reefs,  and 
can  only  be  navigated  by  boats.  The  distance  between  this  islet 
and  the  continent  of  America  is  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  league  in 
width ;  and,  although  its  channel  is  so  deep  that  two  or  even  three 
ships  might  sail  abreast  through  it,  two  bastions  might  be  built  on 
the  banks,  with  little  trouble,  which  would  contract  the  channc.  o 
within  the  reach  of  a  musket-shot. 

"  In  the  harbor  in  which  our  ship  anchored,  at  the  entrance 
of  the  strait,  on  the  south  side,  we  lay  from  the  beginning  of 
April  to  the  middle  of  June,  when  a  large  vessel,  of  800  tons'  bur- 
den, came  there  from  the  South  Sea,  in  order  to  pass  the  strait- 
Upon  this,  we  put  ourselves  on  our  guard ;  but,  having  come  to  an 
understanding  with  her,  I  found  them  willing  to  give  us  some 


ll 


(. 


1588.] 


PRETENDED  VOTAGE  OF  MALDONADO. 


81 


1! 


i 


of  their  merchandise,  the  greater  part  of  which  consisted  of  articles 
similar  to  those  manufactured  in  China,  such  as  brocades,  silks,  porce- 
lain, feathers,  precious  stones,  pearls,  and  gold.  These  people 
seemed  to  be  Hanseatics,  who  inhabit  the  Bay  of  St.  Nicholas,  or 
the  port  of  St.  Michael,  [Archangel,  on  the  White  Sea.]  In  order 
to  understand  one  another,  we  were  forced  to  speak  Latin,  those  of 
our  party  who  understood  that  language  talking  with  those  on  board 
the  ship  who  were  also  acquainted  with  it.  They  did  not  seem  to 
be  Catholics,  but  Luthemns.  They  said  they  came  from  a  large  city, 
more  than  one  hundred  leagues  from  the  strait ;  and,  though  I  cannot 
exactly  remember  its  name,  I  think  they  called  it  Rohr,  or  some 
such  name,  which  they  said  had  a  good  harbor,  and  a  navigable 
river,  and  was  subject  to  the  great  khan,  as  it  belonged  to  Tartary, 
and  that,  in  that  port,  they  left  another  ship  belonging  to  their 
country.  We  could  learn  no  more  from  them,  as  they  acted  with 
great  caution,  and  little  confidence,  being  afraid  of  our  company ; 
wherefore  we  parted  from  them,  near  the  strait,  in  the  North  Sea, 
and  set  sail  towards  Spain." 

The  preceding  extracts,  from  a  translation  of  the  manuscript  at 
Madrid,  will  suffice  to  show  the  course  which  the  Portuguese  pre- 
tended to  have  taken,  in  1588.  The  remainder  of  the  paper  is 
devoted  to  descriptions  of  the  supposed  strait,  and  plans  for  its 
occupation  and  defence  by  Spain ;  nothing  being  said  as  to  the 
circumstances  which  induced  the  navigators  to  return  to  Europe  by 
the  same  route,  instead  of  pursuing  their  course  to  some  Spanish 
port  on  the  Pacific.  It  is  needless  to  use  'any  arguments  to  prove 
that  no  such  voyage  could  have  been  ever  made ;  as  we  know  that 
the  only  connection  by  water  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific, 
north  of  America,  is  through  the  Arctic  Sea  and  Bering's  Strait, 
which  latter  passage  is  more  than  sixteen  leagues  in  width,  and  is  sit- 
uated near  the  65th  degree  of  latitude.  It  has,  however,  been  sug- 
gested, and  it  is  not  improbable,  that,  before  the  period  when 
Maldonado  presented  his  memoir  to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  some 
voyage,  of  which  we  have  no  account,  may  have  been  made  in  the 
North  Pacific,*  as  far  as  the  entrance  of  the  gulf  called  Cook's 
Inlet,  and  that  this  entrance,  situated  under  the  60th  parallel  of 
latitude,  may  have  been  supposed,  by  the  navigator,  to  be  the 
western  termination  of  the  long-sought  Strait  of  Anian. 

The  story  certainly  attracted  considerable  attention  at  the  time 

*  Article  on  the  north-west  passage,  in  the  Quarterly,  for  October,  1816,  above 
mentioned. 

11 


82 


STORT    OF    THE    VOYAGE    OF    FONTS. 


[1640. 


when  it  was  put  forth,  and  allusions  are  made  to  it  by  several 
Spanish  authors  of  the  seventeenth  century ;  it  had,  however,  been 
entirely  forgotten  when  the  French  geographer  M.  Buache,  having 
obtained  a  copy  of  the  Madrid  manuscript,  endeavored  to  establish 
the  truth  of  the  most  material  points,  in  a  paper  read  by  him  before 
the  Academy  of  Sciences,  at  Paris,  on  the  13th  of  November, 
1790.  At  Jiis  request,  the  archives  of  the  Indies  were  examined, 
in  search  of  documents  relating  to  the  supposed  voyage ;  and  the 
commanders  of  Spanish  ships,  then  employed  in  the  surveying 
the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  were  instructed  to  endeavor 
to  find  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Anian,  near  the  60th 
degree  of  latitude.  These  endeavors  proved  vain,  and  the 
name  of  Maldonado  had  again  sunk  into  oblivion,  when  it  was 
again,  in  1812,  brought  before  the  world  by  Signor  Amoretti,  of 
Milan,  who  found,  in  the  Ambrosian  library,  in  that  city,  the  man- 
uscript already  mentioned,  and  published  a  French  translation  of 
it,  with  arguments  in  support  of  the  truth  of  its  contents.  So  far 
as  is  known,  the  falsehoods  of  Maldonado  have  injured  no  one, 
and  they  were  ultimately  productive  of  great  good;  for  it  was 
while  engaged,  by  order  of  the  Spanish  government,  in  examining 
the  archives  of  the  Indies  respecting  this  pretended  voyage,  that 
Navarrete  found  those  precious  documents,  relating  to  the  Expedi- 
tions of  Columbus  and  other  navigators  of  his  day,  which  have  thrown 
so  much  light  on  the  history  of  the  discovery  of  the  New  World. 

Similar  good  effects  have  been  produced  by  the  story  of  the 
voyage  of  Admiral  Pedro  Bartolome  de  Fonte,  from  the  Pacific 
to  the  Atlantic,  through  lakes  and  rivers  extending  across  North 
America,  which  may  also  be  here  mentioned,  though  it  belongs 
properly  to  a  later  period  of  the  history ;  as  the  voyage  was  said  to 
have  been  performed  in  1640,  and  the  account  first  appeared  in  a 
periodical  work  entitled — Monthly  Miscellany ,  or  Memoirs  of  the 
Curious  —  published  at  London,  in  1708.  This  account  is  very 
confused,  and  badly  written,  and  is  filled  with  absurdities  and  con- 
tradictions, which  should  have  prevented  it  from  receiving  credit  at 
any  time  since  its  appearance :  yet,  as  will  be  shown,  it  was  serious- 
ly examined  and  defended,  so  recently  as  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century,  by  eminent  scientific  men ;  and  some  faith  continued  to 
be  attached  to  it  for  many  years  afterwards.  So  far  as  its  details 
can  be  understood,  they  are  to  the  following  effect :  — 

Admiral  Fonte  sailed  from  Callao,  near  Lima,  in  April,  1640, 
with  four  vessels,  under  orders,  from  the  viceroy  of  Peru,  to  repair 


1640.] 


STORY  OF  THE  VOYAGE  OF  F0NT£. 


83 


1640, 
repair 


U 


to  the  North  Pacific,  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  its  American 
coasts,  and  of  intercepting  certain  vessels  which  were  reported  to 
have  been  equipped  at  Boston,  in  New  England,  in  search  of  a 
north-west  passage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  From  Callao 
he  proceeded  to  Cape  San  Lucas,  where  he  detached  a  vessel  to 
explore  the  Californian  Gulf;  thence,  continuing  his  voyage  along 
the  west  coast,  he  passed  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  leagues,  in 
crooked  channels,  among  a  collection  of  islands  called  by  him  the 
Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus;  and  beyond  them  he  found,  under 
the  53d  degree  of  latitude,  the  mouth  of  a  great  river,  which  he 
named  Rio  de  los  Reyes  —  River  of  Kings.  Having  despatched  his 
lieutenant,  Bernardo,  with  one  vessel,  to  trace  the  coast  on  the 
Pacific  farther  north,  he  entered  the  great  river,  and  ascended  it 
north-eastward,  to  a  large  lake,  called,  from  the  beauty  of  its 
shores.  Lake  Belle,  containing  many  islands,  and  surrounded  by  a 
fine  country,  the  inhabitants  of  which  were  kind  and  hospitable. 
On  the  south  shore  of  the  lake  was  the  large  town  of  Conasset, 
where  the  admiral  left  his  vessels ;  thence  he  proceeded,  (in  what 
manner  he  does  not  say,)  with  some  of  his  men,  down  a  river 
called  the  Parmentier,  flowing  from  Lake  Belle  eastward  into 
another  lake,  to  which  he  gave  his  own  name,  and  thence,  through 
a  passage  called  the  Strait  of  Ronquillo,  in  honor  of  one  of  his 
captains,  to  the  sea. 

On  entering  the  sea,  the  admiral  learned,  from  some  Indians, 
"  that,  a  little  way  off",  lay  a  great  ship,  where  there  had  never  been 
one  before ; "  and,  on  boarding  her,  he  fouiid  only  an  old  man  and 
a  youth,  who  told  him  that  they  came  from  the  town  called  Boston, 
in  New  England.  On  the  following  day,  the  captain,  named 
Nicholas  Shapley,  arrived,  with  the  owner  of  the  ship,  Seymour 
Gibbons,  "a  fine  gentleman,  and  major-general  of  the  largest 
colony  in  New  England,  called  Maltechusetis,"  between  whom  and 
the  admiral  a  struggle  of  courtesy  was  begun.  The  Spanish  com- 
mander had  been  ordered  to  make  prize  of  any  people  seeking  for 
a  north-west  or  a  west  passage ;  but  he  would  look  on  the  Bosto- 
nians  as  merchants,  trading  for  skins;  so  he  made  magnificent 
presents  to  them  all,  and,  having  received,  in  return,  their  charts 
and  journals,  he  went  back  to  his  ships,  in  Lake  Belle,  and  thence, 
down  the  Rio  de  los  Reyes,  to  the  sea. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  lieutenant,  Bernardo,  had  ascended  another 
river,  called,  by  him,  Rio  de  Haro,  into  a  lake  named  Lake  Velasco, 
situated  under  the  61st  degree  of  latitude,  from  which  he  went,  in 


84 


VOTAGE    or   JUAN   DE    rUCA. 


[159S 


iii 


Iff 


canoes,  as  ftu*  as  the  79th  degree,  where  the  land  was  seen,  "still 
trending  north,  and  the  ice  rested  on  the  land."  He  was  also  as- 
sured''that  there  was  no  communication  out  of  the  Atlantic  Sea  by 
Davis's  Strait ;  for  the  natives  had  conducted  one  of  his  seamen  to 
the  head  of  Davis's  Strait,  which  terminated  in  a  fresh  lake,  of  about 
thirty  miles  in  circumference,  in  the  80th  degree  of  north  latitude ; 
and  there  were  prodigious  mountains  north  of  it."  These  accounts, 
added  to  his  own  observations,  led  Admiral  Font6  to  conclude  "  that 
there  was  no  passage  into  the  Souih  Sea  hy  what  they  call  the  north- 
west passage ; "  and  he  accordingly  returned,  with  his  vessels, 
through  the  Pacific,  to  Peru. 

Such  are  the  principal  circumstances  related  in  the  account  of 
Admiral  Font^'s  voyage,  which  was,  for  some  time  after  its  appear- 
ance, received  as  true,  and  copied  into  all  works  on  Northern 
America.  In  1750,  a  French  translation  of  the  account,  with  a 
chart  drawn  from  it,  and  a  memoir,  in  support  of  its  correctness, 
were  presented  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris  by  Messrs. 
Delisle  and  Buache,  in  consequence  of  which,  the  various  Spanish 
repositories  of  papers  respecting  America  were  carefully  examined, 
in  search  of  information  on  the  subject ;  and,  in  all  the  voyages  of 
discovery  along  the  north-west  coasts  of  the  continent,  during 
the  last  century,  endeavors  were  made  to  discover  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  de  los  Reyes.  These  labors,  however,  were  vain.  The  exist- 
ence of  a  number  of  islands  near  the  position  assigned  to  the 
Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus,  and  of  a  large  river,  (the  StiJcine,) 
entering  the  ocean  near  the  56th  parallel,  indeed,  seems  to  favor 
the  supposition  that  some  voyage,  of  which  we  have  no  record, 
may  have  been  made  to  that  part  of  the  Pacific  before  1708 ;  but 
the  rivers  and  lakes  through  which  Font^  was  said  to  have  passed  — 
his  town  of  Conasset — and  his  Boston  ship  —  are  now  generally 
believed  to  have  all  emanated  from  the  brain  of  James  Petiver,  a 
naturalist  of  some  eminence,  and  one  of  the  chief  contributors  to 
the  Monthly  Miscellany.  , 

The  account  of  the  voyage  and  discoveries  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  on 
the  north-western  side  of  America,  in  1592,  was,  for  a  long  time, 
considered  as  less  worthy  of  credit  than  those  above  noticed.  More 
recent  examinations  in  that  part  of  the  world  have,  however,  caused 
it  to  be  removed  from  the  class  of  fictions ;  although  it  is  certainly 
erroneous  as  regards  the  principal  circumstance  related.  All  the 
information  respecting  this  voyage  is  derived  from  *'A  Note  made  by 
S^hael  Lock,  the  elder,  touching  the  Strait  of  Sea  commonly  called 


1592.] 


VOTAQE    or   JUAN   DE   FUCA. 


9ah 


\ 


Fretum  Anian,  in  the  South  «%a,  through  the  North-wett  Passage  of 
Meta  Incognita" — published  in  1625,  in  the  celebrated  historical 
and  geographical  collection  called  The  Pilgrims,  by  Samuel 
Purchas.* 

Mr.  Lock  there  relates  that  he  met,  at  Venice,  in  April,  1596, 
"  an  old  man,  about  sixty  years  of  age,  called,  commonly,  Juan  de 
Fuca,  but  named,  properly,  Apostolos  Vakrianos,  of  nation  a 
Greek,  born  in  Cephalonia,  of  profession  a  mariner,  and  an  ancient 
pilot  of  ships,"  who,  "  in  long  talks  and  conferences,"  declared  that 
he  had  been  in  the  naval  service  of  Spain,  in  the  West  Indies,  forty 
years,  and  that  he  was  one  of  the  crew  of  the  galleon  Santa  Anna, 
when  she  was  taken  by  Cavendish,  near  Cape  San  Lucas,  in  1587, 
on  which  occasion  "  he  had  lost  sixty  thousand  ducats  of  his  own 
goods."  After  his  return  to  Mexico,  he  was  despatched,  by  the 
viceroy,  with  three  vessels,  '<to  discover  the  Strait  of  Anian,  along 
the  coast  of  the  South  Sea,  and  to  fortify  that  strait,  to  resist  the 
passage  and  proceeding  of  the  English  nation,  which  were  feared 
to  pass  through  that  strait  into  the  South  Sea."  This  expedition, 
however,  proving  abortive,  he  was  again  sent,  in  1592,  with  a  small 
caravel,  for  the  same  purpose,  in  which  <<  he  followed  his  course 
west  and  north-west,"  along  the  coasts  of  Mexico  and  California, 
"  until  he  came  to  the  latitude  of  47  degrees ;  and,  there  finding 
that  the  land  trended  north  and  north-east,  with  a  broad  inlet  of 
sea,  between  47  and  48  degrees  of  latitude,  he  entered  thereinto, 
sailing  therein  more  than  twenty  days,  and  found  that  land  trending 
still  sometime  north-west,  and  north-east,  and  north,  and  also  east, 
and  south-eastward,  and  very  much  broader  sea  than  was  at  the 
said  entrance,  and  he  passed  by  divers  islands  in  that  sailing ;  and, 
at  the  entrance  of  this  said  strait,  there  is,  on  the  north-west  coast 
thereof,  a  great  head-land  or  island,  with  an  exceeding  high  pinna- 
cle, or  spired  rock,  like  a  pillar  thereupon.  *  *  *  *  Being  entered 
thus  far  into  the  said  strait,  and  being  come  into  the  North  Sea 
already,  and  finding  the  sea  wide  enough  every  where,  and  to  be 
about  thirty  or  forty  leagues  wide  in  the  mouth  of  the  straits,  where 
he  entered,  he  thought  he  had  now  well  discharged  his  office ;  and 
that,  not  being  armed  to  resist  the  force  of  the  savage  people  that 
might  happen,  he  therefore  set  sail,  and  returned  to  Acapulco." 

The  Greek  went  on  to  say  that,  upon  his  arrival  in  Mexico,  the  vice- 


•  The  whole  rwte  will  be  found  among  the  Proofs  and  lUuatrations,  in  the  latter 
part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  A. 


86 


TOrAGE   or  JUAN  DE  rucA. 


[1593. 


i 


Mi 


m 


toy  had  welcomed  him,  and  promised  him  a  great  reward ;  but  that, 
after  waiting  in  vain  for  two  years,  he  had  stole  away  to  Europe, 
and,  "  understanding  the  noble  mind  of  the  queen  of  England,  and 
of  her  wars  against  the  Spaniards,  and  hoping  that  her  majesty 
would  do  him  justice  for  his  goods  lost  by  Captain  Candish,  he 
would  be  content  to  go  into  England,  and  serve  her  majesty  in  that 
voyage  for  the  discovery  perfectly  of  the  north-west  passage  into 
the  South  Sea,  if  she  would  furnish  him  with  only  one  ship  of  forty 
tons'  burden,  and  a  pinnace ;  and  that  he  would  perform  it  in  thirty 
days'  time,  from  one  end  to  the  other  of  the  strait."  Mr.  Lock 
says  that,  on  receiving  this  account,  he  endeavored  to  interest  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  and  other  eminent  persons  in  England,  in  behalf 
of  the  Greek  pilot,  and  to  have  him  employed  on  a  voyage  such 
as  he  proposed  to  undertake ;  but  he  v/as  unable  to  do  so,  and,  by 
the  last  accounts,  the  old  man  was  dying  in  Cephalonia,  in  1602. 

These  are  the  most  material  circumstances  respecting  Juan  de 
Fuca  and  his  voyage,  as  related  by  Mr.  Lock,  who  was  an  intelli- 
gent and  respectable  merchant  engaged  in  the  Levant  trade.* 
Other  English  writers,  of  the  same  time,  allude  to  the  subject ;  but 
they  afford  no  additional  particulars,  nor  has  any  thing  been  since 
learned,  calculated  to  prove  directly  even  that  such  a  persoji  as 
Juan  de  Fuca  ever  existed.  On  the  contrary,  the  author  of  the 
Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes,  who  loses  no 
opportunity  to  exalt  the  merits  of  his  countrymen  as  discoverers, 
after  examining  many  papers  in  the  archives  of  the  Indies,  relating 
to  the  period  given  as  the  date  of  the  voyage,  pronounces  the  whole 
to  be  a  fabrication.  The  account  attracted  little  attention  in  Eng- 
land, and  was  almost  unknown,  out  of  that  kingdom,  until  after 
the  publication  of  the  journals  of  the  last  expedition  of  Cook,  who 
conceived  that  he  had,  by  his  examinations  on  the  north-western 
coasts  of  America,  ascertained  its  falsehood.  More  recen '  exami- 
nations in  that  quarter  have,  however,  served  to  establish  a  strong 
presumption  in  favor  of  its  authenticity  and  general  correctness, 
so  far  as  the  supposed  narrator  could  himself  have  known ;  for 
they  show  that  the  geographical  descriptions  contained  in  it  are 
as  nearly  conformable  with  the  truth,  as  those  of  any  other  account 
of  a  voyage  written  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Thus  Juan  de  Fuca  says  that,    between   the  47th  and  48th 

*  He  was,  for  some  time,  the  English  consul  at  Aleppo,  and  was  an  intimate  friend 
of  Hakluyt,  for  whom  he  translated  the  Decades  of  Pedro  Martir,  and  furnished  other 
papers  published  by  that  collector. 


m, 

IP 
1 1;; 


1595.] 


CONriRMATION    OF    FUCA  8    ACCOUNT. 


;jnr 


ll 


degrees  of  latitude,  he  entered  a  broad  inlet  of  sea,  in  which  he 
sailed  for  twenty  days,  and  found  the  land  trending  north-west,  and 
north-east,  and  north,  and  east,  and  south-east,  and  that,  in  this 
course,  he  passed  numerous  islands.  Now,  the  fact  is,  that,  between 
the  48th  and  49th  degrees,  a  broad  inlet  of  sea  does  extend  from 
the  Pacific,  eastward,  apparently  penetrating  the  American  conti- 
nent to  the  distance  of  more  than  one  hundred  miles,  after  which 
it  turns  north-westward,  and,  continuing  in  that  direction  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  farther,  it  again  joins  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  diiTcrenccs  as  to  the  position  and  course  of  the  inlet,  between 
the  two  descriptions  here  compared,  are  few  and  slight,  and  are 
certainly  all  within  the  limits  of  supposable  error  on  the  part  of  the 
Greek,  especially  considering  his  advanced  age,  and  the  circum- 
stance that  he  spoke  only  from  recollection ;  while,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  coincidences  are  too  strong  to  be  attributable  only  to 
chance.  The  pilot,  indeed,  asserts  that  through  this  inlet  he  sailed 
to  the  Atlantic,  but  he  does  not  pretend  that  he  reached  any  known 
coast,  or  previously-determined  point  of  that  ocean ;  so  that  he  is 
liable  only  to  the  charge  of  having  made  an  erroneous  estimate  of 
the  extent  and  value  of  his  discovery,  which  he  might  well  have 
done,  without  any  intention  to  deceive,  as  the  breadth  of  the  North 
American  continent  was  then  unknown. 

Some  false  reports,  such  as  those  above  mentioned,  respecting 
the  discovery  of  a  northern  passage  between  the  two  oceans,  and 
the  existence  of  rich  nations  in  its  vicinity,  together  with  a  desire 
to  lessen  the  dangers  of  the  navigation, along  the  western  side  of 
California,  by  providing  the  ships  in  the  Philippine  trade  with  proper 
descriptions  of  the  coasts,  induced  King  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  in 
1595,  to  order  that  measures  should  be  taken  for  a  complete  survey 
of  it.*    There  were,  also,  other  reasons  for  examining  that  part  of 

*  "  Ilii  majeBty  knew  that  the  viceroys  of  Mexico  had  endeavored  to  discover  a 
northern  pauago ;  and  he  had  found,  among  his  father's  papers,  a  declaration  of 
certain  strangcn,  to  tlic  effect  that  they  had  been  driven,  by  violent  winds,  from  the 
codiiBh  coaat,  [about  Newfoundland,]  on  the  Atlantic,  to  the  South  Sea,  through  the 
Strait  of  Anian,  which  is  beyond  Cape  Mendocino,  and  had,  on  their  way,  seen  a 
rich  and  populous  city,  well  fortified,  and  inhabited  by  a  numerous  and  civilized 
nation,  who  had  treated  them  well ;  as  also  many  other  things  worthy  to  be  seen  and 
known.  Hii  majesty  had  also  been  informed  that  ships,  sailing  from  China  to  Mex- 
ico, ran  great  risks,  particularly  near  Cape  Mendocino,  where  the  storms  are  most 
violent,  and  that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  have  that  coast  surveyed  thence  to 
Acapuloo,  so  that  the  ships,  mostly  belonging  to  his  majesty,  should  find  places  for 
relief  and  reiVeshment  when  needed."  Whereupon,  his  majesty  ordered  the  count 
de  Monterey,  viceroy  of  Mexico,  to  have  those  coasts  surveyed,  at  his  own  expense, 
with  all  oore  and  diligence,  &c.  —  Torquemada,  vol.  i.  p.  693. 


riBST   VOYAGE   01'    VIZCAINO. 


[1696. 


I 


the  continent,  u  the  Spaniards  were  then  engaged  in  the  settlement 
of  New  Mexico,  or  the  country  traversed  by  the  River  Bravo  del 
Norte,  in  which  their  colonies  extended  nearly  to  the  40th  degree 
of  latitude ;  and  they  had  no  clear  idea  of  the  distance  between 
that  region  and  the  Pacific. 

The  count  de  Monterey,  viceroy  of  Mexico,  in  consequence, 
despatched  three  vessels  from  Acapulco,  in  the  spring  of  1596, 
under  the  command  of  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  a  distinguished  oflicer, 
who  had  been  in  the  ship  Santa  Anna,  when  she  was  taken  and 
burnt  by  Cavendish,  oif  Cape  San  Lucas.  Nothing,  however,  was 
gained  by  this  expedition.  For  reasons  of  which  we  are  not 
informed  by  the  Spanish  historians,  Vizcaino  did  not  proceed 
beyond  the  Californian  Gulf,  on  the  shores  of  which  he  endeavored 
to  plant  colonies,  first  at  a  place  called  St.  Sebastian,  and  after- 
wards at  La  Paz,  or  Santa  CruZ;  where  Cortes  had  made  a  similar 
attempt  sixty  years  before :  but  both  these  places  were  soon  aban- 
doned, on  account  of  the  sterility  of  the  surrounding  country,  and 
the  ferocity  of  the  natives ;  and  Vizcaino  returned  to  Mexico  before 
the  end  of  the  year.* 

The  viceroy  had  most  probably  hoped,  by  means  of  this  voyage, 
to  escape  the  infliction  of  the  heavy  expenses  of  an  expedition 
such  as  that  which  he  was  enjoined  to  make  by  the  royal  decree  ; 
but  King  Philip  IL  died  in  1598,  and  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the 
reign  of  his  successor,  Philip  IIL,  was  a  peremptory  order  for  the 
immediate  despatch  of  a  squadron  from  Mexico,  to  complete  the 
survey  of  the  west  coasts  of  the  continent,  agreeably  to  the  previous 
instructions.  The  viceroy  thereupon  commenced  preparations  for 
the  purpose  on  an  extended  scale  of  equipment.  Two  large  ships 
and  a  fragata,  or  small  vessel,  were  provided  at  Acapulco,  and 
furnished  with  all  the  requisites  for  a  long  voyage  of  discovery ;  and, 
in  addition  to  their  regular  crews,  a  number  of  pilots,  draughtsmen, 
and  educated  priests,  were  engaged,  forming  together,  says  the 

*  This  expedition  is  thus  noticed  by  Hakluyt,  vol.  iii.  p.  5S2 :  — 
"  We  have  seen  a  letter  written  the  8th  of  October,  1597,  at  a  town  called  Puebla 
de  los  Angeles,  eighteen  leagues  from  Mexico,  making  mention  of  the  islands  of  Cal- 
ifornia,  situated  two  or  three  hundred  leagues  from  the  main  land  of  New  Spain,  in 
the  South  Sea,  as  that  thither  have  been  sent,  before  that  time,  some  people  to  con- 
quer them,  which,  with  loss  of  some  twenty  men,  were  forced  back,  after  that  they 
had  well  visited,  and  found  those  islands  or  countries  to  bo  very  rich  of  gold  and 
silver  mines,  and  of  very  fair  Oriental  pearls,  which  were  caught,  in  good  quantity, 
upon  one  fathom  and  a  half,  passing,  in  beauty,  the  pearls  of  Margarita.  The  report 
thereof  caused  the  viceroy  of  Mezioo  to  send  a  citizen  of  Mexico,  with  two  hundred 
men,  to  conquer  the  same." 


■I 


ir 


llik 


160S.] 


aSOOND    VOTAQK    Or    VISOAMO. 


89 


for 


the 


'uebla 
Cal- 

in,  in 

con- 

they 

and 


hUtorian  Torquemada,  **  the  most  enlightened  oorpa  ever  raiaed  in 
New  Spain."  The  direction  of  the  whole  expedition  was  intrusted 
to  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  as  captain-general,  who  sailed  in  the  largest 
ship ;  the  other  being  commanded  by  Toribio  Qomez  de  Corvan, 
as  admiral — an  office  equivalent  in  rank  to  that  of  vice-admiral  in 
the  British  service:  the  fragata  was  under  ensign  Martin  de 
Aguilar.* 

All  things  being  prepared,  the  vessels  took  their  departure  from 
Acapulco  on  the  5th  of  May,  1603,  and,  after  many  troubles  and 
delays  at  various  places  on  the  Mexican  coast,  they  were  assembled 
in  the  small  Bay  of  San  Bernab^,  now  called  Port  San  Josi,  imme- 
diately east  of  Cape  San  Lucas,  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
Californian  peninsula.  There  they  remained  until  the  5th  of  July, 
when  they  rounded  the  cape,  and  the  survey  of  the  west  coast  was 
commenced  from  that  point.  The  prosecution  of  the  enterprise 
was  thenceforward  attended  by  constant  difficulties:  the  scurvy, 
as  usual,  soon  broke  out  among  the  crews ;  and  the  Spaniards  had 
their  courage  and  perseverance  severely  tried  by  their  "chief 
enemy,  the  north-west  wind,"  which  was  raised  up,  says  Torque- 
mada,  <<by  the  foe  of  the  human  race,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
advance  of  the  ships,  and  to  delay  the  discovery  of  those  countries, 
and  the  conversion  of  their  inhabitants  to  the  Catholic  faith." 

Vizcaino  and  his  followers,  however,  bore  up  nobly  against  all 
these  obstacles,  and  executed  the  duty  confided  to  them  most 
faithfully.  Proceeding  slowly  northward,  they  reached  the  exten- 
sive Bay  of  La  Magdahna,  between  the  24th  and  25th  paralleb  of 
latitude,  of  which  Vizcaino's  survey  was,  until  recently,  the  only 
one  upon  record ;  and  before  the  end  of  August,  the  vessels  which 
had  been  separated  almost  ever  since  quitting  Cape  San  Lucas, 
were  again  united  in  a  harbor  in  the  island  called  Isla  de  Cedrosy 
or  Isle  of  Cedars,  by  Cabrillo,  but  now  generally  known  as  Lla  de 
Cerros,  or  Isle  of  Mountains.  Continuing  their  examination,  they 
found  a  bay  near  the  31st  degree  of  latitude,  which  they  named  the 
Port  of  the  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,  now  called  Port  San  Qutnttn, 
and  said  to  be  an  excellent  harbor ;  and  farther  north  they  entered 
the  Port  San  Miguel  of  Cabrillo,  to  which  they  assigned  the  appella- 

*  Torquemada,  vol.  i.  p.  694. —  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdei, 
p.  60.  —  Torquemada's  accounts  are  derived  chiefly  from  the  Journal  of  Fray  An- 
tonio de  la  Aaencion,  the  chaplain  of  one  of  the  ships.    The  author  of  the  Intooduc- 
tion,  &o.,  had  recourse  to  the  original  notes  of  the  expedition,  from  which  he  con 
structed  a  chart  of  the  coast  surveyed. 
12 


90 


▼IIOAIirO    REACHBl    MONTBRKT. 


[1603. 


!''■  !' 


tion  of  Port  San  Diego.  There  Vizcaino  received  account!,  from 
the  nativei,  of  people  residing  in  the  interior,  who  had  beards, 
wore  clothes,  and  dwelt  in  cities ;  but  he  could  learn  no  further 
particulars,  and  was,  upon  the  whole,  inclined  to  believe  that, 
unless  the  Indians  were  deceiving  him,  these  people  must  be  the 
Spaniards  recently  settled  in  New  Mexico,  on  the  River  Bravo  del 
Norte. 

Having  minutely  surveyed  Port  San  Diego,  the  Spaniards  quitted 
it  on  the  1st  of  December,  and  sailed  through  the  Archipelago 
of  Santa  Barbara,  in  one  of  the  islands  of  which  Cabrillo  died 
sixty  years  previous ;  then  doubling  the  Cape  de  Galera  of  that 
navigator,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Conception,  now 
borne  by  it,  they  anchored,  in  the  middle  of  the  month,  in  a 
spacious  and  secure  harbor,  near  the  37th  parallel,  where  they 
remained  some  time,  engaged  in  refitting  their  vessels  and  obtaining 
a  supply  of  water.  This  harbor  —  the  Port  of  Pines  of  Cabrillo  — 
was  named  Port  Monterey  by  Vizcaino,  in  honor  of  the  viceroy  of 
Mexico;  and  as,  before  reaching  it,  sixteen  of  the  crews  of  the 
vessels  had  died,  and  many  of  the  others  were  incapable  of  duty 
from  disease,  it  was  determined  that  Corvan,  the  admiral,  should 
return  to  Mexico  in  his  ship,  carrying  the  invalids,  with  letters  to  the 
viceroy,  urging  the  immediate  establishment  of  colonies  and  garrisons 
at  San  Diego  and  Monterey.  Corvan,  accordingly,  on  the  29th, 
sailed  for  Acapulco,  where  he  arrived  after  a  long  and  perilous 
voyage,  with  but  few  of  his  men  alive ;  whilst  Vizcaino,  with  his 
ship  and  the  fragata,  prosecuted  their  exploration  along  the  coast 
towards  the  north.         < 

On  the  3d  of  January,  1603,  after  the  departure  of  Corvan, 
Vizcaino,  accompanied  by  the  small  vessel  under  Aguilar,  quitted 
Monterey;  but,  ere  proceeding  much  farther  north,  they  were 
driven  back  by  a  severe  gale,  in  the  course  of  which  the  two 
vessels  were  separated.  The  ship  took  refuge  in  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco,  which  seems  to  have  been  then  well  known  ;  and  search 
was  made  for  the  wreck  of  the  San  Augustin,  which  had  been  there 
lost,  as  already  mentioned,  in  1595,  during  her  voyage  from  the 
Philippine  Islands  to  Acapulco.  Finding  no  traces  of  that  vessel, 
Vizcaino  again  put  to  sea ;  and,  passing  a  promontory,  which  he  sup- 
posed to  be  Cape  Mendocino,  he,  on  the  20th  of  January,  reached 
a  high,  white  bluff,  in  latitude,  as  ascertained  by  solar  observation, 
of  42  degrees,  which,  in  honor  of  the  saint  of  that  day,  was  named 
Cape  San  Sebastian.     By  this  time,  few  of  his  men  were  fit  for 


1608.] 


VIIOAINO    RBTURNS   TO   MBXIOO. 


91 


were 
\e  two 
)f  San 
Isearch 
there 
im  the 
iressel, 
kesup- 
Uched 
iration, 
lamed 
Ifit  for 


Mfvice;  the  weather  wui  itormy,  the  cold  was  Mvere,  the  pro- 
viiioni  were  nearly  exhausted  ;  and,  as  the  small  vessel  did  not 
appear,  the  commander,  with  the  assent  of  his  officers,  resolved  to 
direct  his  course  towards  Mexico.  He  did  so,  and  arrived  at 
Acapulco  on  the  81st  of  March. 

The  fragata,  or  small  vosflci,  also  reached  Mexico  about  the  same 
time,  having,  however,  lost,  by  sickness,  her  commander,  Martin  de 
Aguilar,  her  pilot,  Floros,  and  the  greater  part  of  her  crew.  Tor- 
quemada's  account  of  her  voyage,  after  parting  with  Vizcaino's 
ship,  is  short,  and  by  no  means  clear ;  but  the  circumstances  therein 
related  have  attracted  so  much  attention,  that  a  translation  of  it 
should  be  here  presented.     The  historian  says,  — 

"  The  fragata  parted  from  the  capitana,  [Vizcaino's  ship,]  and, 
supposing  that  she  had  gone  onward,  sailed  in  pursuit  of  her. 
Being  in  the  latitude  of  41  degrees,  the  wind  began  to  blow  from 
the  south-west ;  and  the  fragata,  being  unable  to  withstand  the 
waves  on  her  beam,  ran  before  the  wind,  until  she  found  shelter 
under  the  land,  and  anchored  near  Cape  Mendocino,  behind  a  great 
rock,  where  she  remained  until  the  gale  had  passed  over.  When 
the  wind  had  become  less  violent,  they  continued  their  voyage  close 
along  the  shore ;  and,  on  the  19th  of  January,  the  pilot,  Antonio 
Flores,  found  that  they  were  in  the  latitude  of  43  degrees,  where 
the  land  formed  a  cape  or  point,  which  was  named  Cape  Blanco. 
From  that  point,  the  coast  begins  to  turn  to  the  north-west ;  and 
near  it  was  discovered  a  rapid  and  abundant  river,  with  ash-trees, 
willows,  brambles,  and  other  trees  of  Castile,  on  its  banks,  which 
they  endeavored  to  enter,  but  could  not,  from  the  force  of  the 
current.  Ensign  Martin  de  Aguilar,  the  commander,  and  Antonio 
Flores,  the  pilot,  seeing  that  they  had  already  reached  a  higher 
latitude  than  had  been  ordered  by  the  viceroy,  in  his  instructions, 
that  the  capitana  did  not  appear,  and  that  the  number  of  the  sick 
was  great,  agreed  to  return  to  Acapulco ;  and  they  did  so,  as  I 
shall  hereafter  show.  It  is  supposed  that  this  river  is  the  one 
leading  to  a  great  city,  which  was  discovered  by  the  Dutch  when 
they  were  driven  thither  by  storms,  and  that  it  is  the  Strait  of 
Anian,  through  which  the  ship  passed,  in  sailing  from  the  North 
Sea  to  the  South  Sea;  and  that  the  city  called  Quivira  is  in 
those  parts  ;  and  that  this  is  the  region  referred  to  in  the  account 
which  his  majesty  read,  and  which  induced  him  to  order  this 
expedition." 

This  account  of  the  discovery  of  a  great  river,  near  the  43d 


9S 


SUPPOSED   RITBR   OP    AOUILAR. 


[1603. 


Wi 


degree  of  latitude,  was,  for  a  long  time,  credited,  and  excited  many 
speculations.  The  supposed  river  was  first  generally  believed  to  be 
the  Strait  of  Anian.  It  was  then,  upon  the  statement  of  the  cap- 
tain of  a  Manilla  ship,  in  1820,  universally  considered  as  the  west- 
ern mouth  of  a  passage,  or  channel,  connecting  the  ocean  with  the 
northern  extremity  of  the  Califomian  Gulf ;  and,  accordingly,  for 
more  than  a  century  after,  California  was  represented  on  maps  as 
an  island,  of  which  Cape  Blanco  was  the  northern  end.  When 
this  error  had  been  corrected,  the  existence  of  a  great  river,  flowing 
from  the  centre  of  America  into  the  Pacific,  under  the  43d  parallel, 
was  again  affirmed  by  some  geographers ;  while  others  placed  at 
this  point  the  western  entrance  of  a  passage  to  the  Atlantic. 

It  is  now  certain  that  no  such  stream  as  that  which  Aguilar  is 
reported  to  have  seen  falls  into  the  Pacific  within  three  degrees  of 
the  43d  parallel ;  although  the  mouths  of  two  small  rivers  are  situated 
near  the  point  where  that  line  crosses  the  western  coast  of  America. 
Several  headlands  project  into  the  ocean,  not  far  from  the  positions 
assigned  to  Capes  Blanco  and  San  Sebastian :  the  former  may  have 
been  the  promontory,  in  latitude  of  42  degrees  52  minutes,  on 
which  Vancouver,  in  1792,  bestowed  the  name  of  Cape  Orford. 

On  comparing  the  accounts  of  Vizcaino's  voyage  with  those  of 
Cabrillo's,  it  appears  that  very  nearly  the  same  portions  of  the 
American  coast  were  seen  by  both  commanders.  The  expedition 
of  Vizcaino  was,  however,  conducted  in  a  much  more  efficient 
manner  than  the  other ;  and  a  mass  of  valuable  information,  re- 
specting the  geography  of  the  western  side  of  California,  was 
collected,  in  the  shape  of  notes,  plans,  and  sketches,  upon  which 
were  founded  the  first  maps  of  that  coast  approaching  to  correct- 
ness. 

Vizcaino,  after  his  return  to  Mexico,  endeavored  to  prevail  upon 
the  viceroy  to  establish  colonies  on  the  western  side  of  California, 
at  places  which  he  recommended,  in  order  to  facilitate  the  trade 
with  India,  and  to  prevent  the  occupation  of  the  American  coasts 
by  other  nations.  His  efforts,  with  this  view,  however,  produced 
no  effect,  as  the  viceroys  never  encouraged  such  enterprises,  being 
generally  obliged  to  pay  the  costs  themselves;  and  Vizcaino,  in 
consequence,  went  to  Spain,  where,  after  many  years  of  solicitation, 
he  at  length  procured  the  royal  mandate,  and  a  promise  of  means 
for  its  execution.  With  these  he  hastened  back  to  Mexico,  but 
was  there  seized  with  a  sickness,  of  which  he  died  in  1608,  and  the 
enterprise  was  then  abandoned. 


;v?f*. 


.'•  1  ;',;;■■•-«.''•'  .'1 


■I'.'. 


93 


-Af 


.    .  1 


U     I'/'.      >  U    -<    il    i'U.. 


CHAPTER   III. 
1608  TO  1768. 


The  North-West  CouU  of  North  America  remain  nearly  neglected  during  the  whole 
of  this  Period  —  Efforts  of  the  Engliib  and  the  Dutch  to  find  new  Passagei  into 
the  Pacific  —  Discovery  of  Hudson's  Day  and  Baffin's  Bay  —  Discovery  of  the 
Passage  around  Cape  Horn  ^  Establishment  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Trading  Com- 
pany—  Endeavors  of  the  Spaniards  to  settle  California  unsuccessful  —  The 
Jesuits  undertake  the  Reduction  of  California— Establishments  of  the  Jesuits  in 
the  Peninsula,  and  their  Expulsion  iVom  the  Spanish  Dominions. 


For  more  than  a  hundred  and  sixty  years  after  the  death  of 
Vizcaino,  no  attempt  was  made,  by  the  Spaniards,  to  form  estab- 
lishments on  the  west  coast  of  California,  or  to  extend  their 
discoveries  in  that  part  of  America. 

Those  countries,  in  the  mean  time,  remained  unknown,  and 
almost  entirely  neglected,  by  the  civilized  world.  The  Spanish 
galleons,  on  their  way  from  Manilla  to  Acapulco,  annually  passed 
along  the  coasts  south  of  Cape  Mendocino,  which  were  described 
in  Spanish  works  on  the  navigation  of  the  Pacific ;  and  some  spots, 
farther  north,  were,  as  will  be  hereafter  particularly  shown,  visited 
by  the  Russians,  in  their  exploring  and  trading  voyages  from  Kamt- 
chatka:  but  no  new  information,  of  an  exact  nature,  was  obtained 
with  regard  to  those  regions,  and  they  were  represented  on  maps 
according  to  the  fancy  of  the  geographer,  or  to  the  degree  of 
faith  which  he  placed  in  the  last  fabrication  respecting  them. 
Numerous  were  the  stories,  gravely  related  and  published  in  France 
and  England,  of  powerful  nations,  of  great  rivers,  of  interior 
seas,  and  of  navigable  passages  connecting  the  Atlantic  with  the 
Pacific,  north  of  California.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  stories 
is  the  account  of  the  voyage  of  Admiral  Fonte,  already  presented. 
Captain  Coxton,  a  veteran  bucanicr,  who  flourished  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  also  declared  that  he  had,  in  1688, 
sailed  from  the  North  Pacific,  far  eastward,  into  the  American 
continent,  through  a  river  which  ran  out  of  a  great  lake,  called  the 
Lake  of  Thoyaga,  containing  many  islands,  inhabited  by  a  numerous 


1 

I 


i 


i;i:-'  I 


94 


HUDSON  S   BAT    AND    CAPE    HORN    DISCOVERED. 


[1616. 


and  warlike  population ;  and,  upon  the  strength  of  the  assertions  of 
this  worthy,  the  lake  and  river,  as  described  by  him,  were  laid  down 
on  many  of  the  maps  of  that  time.  North-west  America  was, 
indeed,  during  the  period  here  mentioned,  the  terra  incognitissima, 
the  favorite  scene  of  extraordinary  adventures  and  Utopian  ro- 
mances. Bacon  there  placed  his  Atlaitis;  and  Brobdignag,  agree- 
ably to  the  very  precise  description  of  its  locality  furnished  by  its 
discoverer,  the  accomplished  and  veracious  Captain  Lemuel  Gulli- 
ver, must  have  been  situated  near  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 

During  this  period,  however,  the  attention  of  the  maritime  powers 
of  Europe  was  constantly  directed  towards  the  Atlantic  coasts  of 
North  America  and  the  West  India  Islands,  on  which  settlements 
were  made,  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  by  the  French,  the 
English,  and  the  Dutch ;  and  many  discoveries  were  at  the  same 
time  effected,  some  of  which  were  of  great  and  immediate  impor- 
tance, while  the  others  served  to  strengthen  the  expectation  that  a 
north-west  passage,  or  navigable  channel  of  communication  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific,  north  of  America,  would  be  speedily 
found.  Thus,  in  1608,  Henry  Hudson  discovered,  or  rediscovered, 
the  strait,  and  the  bay  connected  by  it  with  the  Atlantic,  to  both  of 
which  his  name  is  now  attached ;  and,  eight  years  afterwards,  the 
adventurous  William  Baffin  penetrated,  through  the  arm  of  that 
ocean,  now  called  BaffirCs  Bay,  separating  Greenland  from  Ameri- 
ca, into  a  passage  extending  westward,  under  the  74th  parallel  of 
latitude,  where  his  ship  was  arrested  by  ice.  .  ',v   ,; 

The  most  important  discovery  made  in  the  seventeeth  century 
was,  however,  that  of  the  open  sea,  south  of  Magellan's  Strait, 
through  which  the  Dutch  navigators,  Leraaire  and  Van  Schouten, 
sailed,  in  1616,  from  the  Atlantic  into  the  Pacific,  around  the  island 
promontory  named  by  them  Cape  Horn,  in  honor  of  their  native 
city  in  Holland.  By  means  of  this  new  route,  the  perils  and  diffi- 
culties of  tlie  navigation  between  the  two  oceans  were  so  much 
lessened,  tliat  voyages  from  Europe  to  the  Pacific  were  no  longer 
regarded  as  very  hazardous  enterprises ;  and  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions and  commerce  on  that  ocean  were  ever  after  annoyed  by  the 
armed  ships  of  nations  at  war  with  Spain,  or  by  pirates  and  smug- 
glers of  various  classes  and  denominations. 

The  European  colonies  on  the  Atlantic  coast  of  North  Amierica 
were  founded,  for  the  most  part,  by  companies  under  the  authority 
of  charters  from  the  respective  governments,  conveying  to  the  gran- 
tees the  whole  territory  within  certain  limits  therein  described,  gen- 


1669.] 


HUDSON  S  BAT  COMPANY  CHARTERED. 


am 


I 

1 


erally  with  the  qualification  that  such  territory  should  not  have  been 
previously  possessed  by  some  other  Christian  prince  or  state.  For 
the  determination  of  the  limits,  certain  parallels  of  latitude  virere 
usually  adopted,  between  which  each  colony  was  declared  to  pos- 
sess the  whole  division  of  the  continent  extending  from  the  Atlantic 
indefinitely  westward,  or  westward  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  In  one 
case,  however,  a  different  mode  of  description  was  used.  On 
the  2nd  of  May,  1670,  King  Charles  II.  of  England  granted 
to  an  association  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen,  styled  '*  the  Com- 
pany of  Adventurers  of  England  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,"  and 
to  their  successors  forever,*  the  possession,  almost  in  sovereignty,  of 
Hudson's  Bay  and  Straits,  and  all  their  coasts,  and  all  the  territories 
traversed  or  drained  by  streams  falling  into  them,  not  previously 
possessed  by  any  other  British  subjects,  or  by  subjects  of  any  other 
Christian  prince  or  state ;  natural  boundaries  being  thus  substitu- 
ted for  artificial,  imaginary  lines. 

The  pirates  who  frequented  the  Pacific  during  the  seventeenth 
century  were  principally  English  and  Dutch.      The  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia was  the  principal  resort  of  the  Dutch,  who,  under  the  name 
of  Pichilingues,  kept  the  inhabitants  of  the  west  coasts  of  Mexico  in 
constant  anxiety.      For  the   purpose  of  dislodging  these   depre- 
dators, and  also  of  obtaining  advantages  from  the  pearl  fishery  in 
the  gulf,  several  attempts  were  made,  by  the  government  of  Spain, 
and  by  individuals  in  Mexico,  to  establish  colonies,  garrisons,  and 
fishing  or  trading  posts,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsula  of 
California.     The  details  of  the  expeditions  for  these  purposes,  made 
by  Vicuna  and  Ortega  in  1631,  by  Barriga  and  Porter  in  1644,  by 
Pinadero  in  1664  and  1667,  by  Lucenilla  in  1668,  and  by  Atondo 
in  1683,  are  devoid  of  interest.    Many  pearls  were  obtained,  among 
which  are  some  of  the  most  valuable  in  the  regalia  of  Spain  ;  but 
the  establishments  all  failed  from  want  of  funds,  from  the  extreme 
barrenness  of  the  soil,  and  the  determined  hostility  of  the  natives 
of  the  peninsula,  and,  above  all,  from  the  indolence  and  vicious- 
ness  of   the  persons  employed  in  the   expeditions.     In  the  last 
attempt  of  this  kind,  under  the  direction  of  Don  Isidro  de  Atondo, 
a  number  of  settlers,  soldiers,  and  Jesuits,  were  carried  out  from 
Mexico,  and  distributed  at  points  on  the  gulf  where  the  establish- 
ments were  to  be  formed  ;  but  these  stations  were  all  abandoned  be- 
fore the  end  of  a  year,  and  it  was  thereupon  resolved,  in  a  council 
of  the  chief  authorities  of  Mexico,  that  the  reduction  of  California 
by  such  means  was  impracticable. 

*  See  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  under  the  letter  I,  No.  1. 


96 


JJSSUITS    IM    CALirOBNIA. 


[1097. 


m\ 


The  Jesuits  who  had  accompanied  Atondo  to  CaUfornia,  while 
concurring  in  this  opinion  with  the  council,  nevertheless  insisted 
that  the  desired  political  objects  might  be  attained  by  a  different 
course,  namely,  by  the  civilization  and  conversion  to  Christianity 
of  the  natives  of  that  country ;  and  this  task  they  offered  them- 
selves to  undertake,  doubting  not  that  their  labors  would  be  crowned 
with  the  same  success  which  had  attended  them  in  Paraguay. 
Their  proposition  was,  as  might  have  been  expected,  coldly  received 
by  the  authorities,  who  could  gain  nothing  by  its  execution.  The 
Jesuits,  however,  not  being  disheartened  by  this  refusal,  perambu- 
lated the  whole  country,  preaching,  and  exhorting  all  to  contribute 
to  the  accomplishment  of  an  enterprise  so  pious  and  so  politic.  By 
such  means,  and  by  the  cooperation  of  their  brethren  in  Europe, 
they  raised  a  small  fund  ;  and  finally,  in  1697,  they  procured  royal 
warrants,  authorizing  them  to  enter  upon  the  reduction  of  California 
for  the  king,  and  to  do  all  that  might  tend  to  that  object  at  their 
oum  expense.  On  receiving  these  warrants.  Father  Salvatierra,  the 
chief  missionary,  immediately  sailed,  with  a  few  laborers  and  sol- 
diers, to  the  land  which  was  to  be  the  scene  of  their  operations. 
There  he  was  soon  after  joined  by  Fathers  Kuhn,  (a  German,  called, 
by  the  Spaniards,  Kino,)  Piccolo,  Ugarte,  and  others,  all  men  of 
courage  and  education,  and  enthusiastically  devoted  to  the  cause  in 
which  they  were  engaged ;  and,  in  November,  1697,  the  first  eflstab- 
lishment,  called  Loreto,  was  founded  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
peninsula,  about  two  hundred  miles  from  the  Pacific. 

The  Jesuits,  on  entering  California,  had  to  encounter  the  same 
perils  and  obstacles  which  had  rendered  ineffectual  all  the  other 
attempts  to  occupy  that  country.  They  were  attacked  by  the 
natives,  to  whose  ferocity  several  of  the  fathers  fell  victims ;  the 
land  was  so  barren,  that  it  scarcely  yielded  the  means  of  sustaining 
life  to  the  most  industrious  agriculturist,  for  which  reason  the  set- 
tlements were  all  located  near  the  sea,  in  order  that  the  necessary 
food  might  be  procured  by  fishing ;  and  the  persons  employed  in 
their  service,  being  drawn  from  the  most  miserable  classes  in 
Mexico,  were  always  indolent  and  insubordinate,  and  generally 
preferred  loitering  on  the  shore,  in  search  of  pearls,  to  engaging  in 
the  regular  labors  required  for  the  support  of  settlers  in  a  new 
region.  The  operations  of  the  Jesuits  were  also,  for  some  time, 
confined  within  the  narrowest  limits,  from  want  of  funds.  Their 
brethren  unu  frieidds  occasionally  made  remittances  to  them,  in 
money  or  goods ;  and  the  king  was  persuaded  to  assign,  for  their 


m 


1716.] 


JESUITS    IN    CALIFORNIA. 


97 


Iheir 


use,  a  small  annual  allowance :  but  the  Mexican  treasury,  which 
was  charged  with  the  payment  of  this  allowance,  was  seldom  able 
to  meet  their  drafts  when  presented  ;  and  the  assistance  derived 
from  all  these  sources  was  much  diminished  in  value  before  it 
reached  those  for  whom  it  was  destined.  Embarrassments  of  this 
nature  occurred  in  1702,  at  the  commencement  of  the  undertaking, 
in  consequence  of  the  great  costs  of  the  expeditions  from  Mexico 
for  the  occupation  of  Texas,  and  the  establishment  of  garrisons,  at 
Pensacola  and  other  places  in  Florida,  as  checks  upon  the  French. 

By  perseverance  and  kindness,  however,  rather   than   by  any 
other  means,  the  Jesuits  overcame  all  the  difficulties  to  which  they 
were  exposed ;  and,  within  sixty  years  after  their  entrance  into  Cal- 
ifornia, they  had  formed  sixteen  principal  establishments,  called 
missions,  extending  in  a  chain  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  penin- 
sula from  Cape  San  Lucas  to  the  head  of  the  gulf.     Each  of  these 
missions  comprised  a  church,  a  fort  garrisoned  by  a  few  soldiers, 
and  some  stores  and  dwelling-houses,  all  under  the  entire  control  of 
the  resident  Jesuit ;  and  it  formed  the  centre  of  a  district  containing 
several  rancherias,  or  villages  of  converted  Indians.     The  principal 
mission,  or  capital,  was  Loreto ;  south  of  it  was  La  Paz,  the  port 
of  communication  with   Mexico,  probably  the  same  place  called 
Santa  Cruz  by  Cortes,  where  he  endeavored  to  plant  a  colony  in 
1535 ;  and  near  Cape  San  Lucas  was  San  Jose,  at  which  an  attempt 
was  made  to  provide  means  for  the  repair  and  refreshment  of  vessels 
employed  in  the  Philippine  trade.     No  establishments  were  formed 
on  the  west  coast,  which  does  not  seem  to  have  been  visited  by  the 
Jesuits,  except  on  one  occasion,  in  1716.   'The  villages  were  each 
under  the  superintendence  of  Indians  selected  for  the  purpose,  of 
whom  one  possessed  the  powers  of  a  governor,  another  took  care 
of  the  church  or  chapel,  and  a  third  summoned  the  inhabitants  to 
prayers,  and  reported  the  delinquents.     The  children  were  taught 
to  speak,  read,  write,  and  sing,  in  Spanish,  and  were  initiated  into 
the  doctrines  and  ceremonies  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion.    The 
converts  were  directed  in  their  labors  by  the  fathers ;  each  being 
generally  allowed  to  retain  the  fruits  of  his  industry,  though  he 
was  at  the  same  time  made  to  understand  that  he  could  not  claim 
them  as  his  property.     Immigration  from  other  countries,  except  of 
Jesuits,  was  as  far  as  possible  prevented  ;  the  efforts  of  the  mission 
aries  being,  in  Cnlifornia  as  in  Paraguay,  devoted  exclusively  to  tho 
improvement  of  the  natives,  and  their  union  into  a  species  of  com- 
monwealth, under  the  guidance  of  their  preceptors. 
13 


m 


98 


JXSU1T8    IN    CALirORNU. 


[1763. 


IIP'U' 


The  Jesuits  also  in  California,  as  in  Paraguay  and  elsewhere, 
exerted  themselves  assiduously  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the 
geography,  natural  history,  and  languages,  of  the  country.  They 
purveyed  the  whole  coast  of  the  Californian  Gulf,  determining  with 
exactness  the  relative  positions  of  the  principal  points  on  it ;  and,  in 
1709,  Father  Kuhn  ascertained  beyond  doubt  the  fact  of  the  con- 
joection  of  the  peninsula  with  the  continent,  which  had  been  denied 
for  a  century.  Indeed,  as  regards  the  eastern  and  middle  parts  of 
the  peninsula,  nearly  all  the  information  which  we  possess  at  the 
present  day  has  been  derived  through  the  labors  of  these  mission- 
aries. On  all  those  subjects,  the  results  of  their  researches  were 
communicated  to  the  world  through  the  Lettres  edijiantes  et  cwi- 
eu$e$,  published,  from  time  to  time,  at  Paris,  by  learned  members  of 
their  order,  and  afterwards  more  fully  in  their  history  of  California,* 
which  appeared  at  Madrid  in  1757,  and  has  been  translated  into  all 
the  languages  of  Western  Europe. 

In  the  mean  time,  —  that  is  to  say,  ever  since  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  —  the  power  of  Spain  had,  from  a  variety  of 
causes,  been  constantly  declining.  Her  resources,  and  those  of  her 
colonies,  had,  within  that  period,  been  materially  reduced ;  in  mari- 
time force  she  had  fallen  far  below  England  and  France,  and  a 
large  portion  of  America,  including  valuable  and  extensive  terri- 
tories, which  had  been  long  occupied  by  her  subjects,  had  ^passed 
into  the  Jiands  of  her  rivals  or  enemies.  Her  government,  indeed, 
resisted,  as  long  as  possible,  these  intrusions  and  encroachments,  as 
they  were  considered,  of  other  nations  upon  territories  of  which 
Spain  claimed  exclusive  possession  in  virtue  of  the  Papal  grant  of 
1493,  as  well  as  of  prior  discovery ;  and  never,  until  forced  by 
absolute  necessity,  did  the  court  of  Madrid  recognize  the  claim  of 
any  other  power,  except  Portugal,  to  occupy  countries  in  the  New 
World,  or  to  navigate  the  Western  Atlantic,  or  any  part  of  the 
Pacific.  The  earliest  recognition  of  such  a  right  by  Spain  was 
made  in  the  American  treaty,  as  it  was  called,  concluded  with  Great 
Britain  in  1670,  by  which  it  was  agreed,  that  the  British  king  should 

•  Jfoticia  de  California  y  de  su  Conquista  espiritual  y  temporal.  —  This  work, 
though  usually  attributed  to  Venegas,  is  doubtless  chiefly  due  to  the  labors  of 
Father  Andres  Marcos  Burriel.  The  [:}rt>ons  relating  to  the  proceedings  of  the 
Jesuits  in  California  are  highly  interesting,  and  bear  every  internal  ..larl.  of  truth 
and  authenticity.  The  observations  on  the  policy  of  the  Spani^i.  gcvornment 
towards  its  American  possessions  are  replete  with  wisdom,  and  indicate  more  liber- 
ality, as  well  as  boldness,  on  the  part  of  the  authors,  than  could  have  been  rea- 
■onably  expected,  considering  the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  written 
and  published. 


1713.1 


PEACE    or    UTRECHT. 


99 


have  and  enjoy  forever,  with  plenary  right  of  sovereignty  and  prop- 
erty, all  lands,  regions,  islands,  and  colonies,  possessed  by  him  or 
his  subjects  in  the  West  Indies,  or  in  any  part  of  America ;  with  the 
understanding,  however,  that  the  subjects  of  neither  power  should 
trade  with,  or  sail  to,  any  place  in  those  countries  belonging  to  the 
other,  unless  forced  thither  by  stress  of  weather,  or  pursuit  by  ene- 
mies or  pirates.  These  stipulations  were  renewed  and  confirmed, 
by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1713  ;  in  the  eighth  article  of  which 
it  was  agreed,  that  the  commerce  and  navigation,  between  the  sub- 
jects of  each  kingdom,  should  be  conducted  as  they  had  been 
before  the  war  of  the  succession,  in  the  reign  of  King  Charles 
II.,  of  Spain,  who  died  in  1700,  "according  to  the  treaties 
of  friendship,  confederation,  and  commerce,  which  were  formerly 
made  between  both  nations,  according  to  ancient  customs,  letters 
patent,  cedulas,  and  other  particular  acts ;  and  also  according  to 
the  treaty  or  treaties  of  commerce  which  are  now,  or  will  forth- 
with be,  made  at  Madrid."  It  was  also  stipulated,  that  Great 
Britain  should  have  the  sole  privilege  of  supplying  the  Spanish  do- 
minions in  America  with  negro  slaves,  according  to  a  contract  well 
known  in  history  as  the  Asiento  de  negros,  and  remarkable  as 
being  the  only  agreement,  between  those  nations,  by  which  either 
was  permitted  to  trade  with  the  colonies  of  the  other  so  long  as 
the  supremacy  of  Spain  subsisted  on  any  part  of  the  American 
continent.  Moreover,  as  a  French  prince  was,  by  these  treaties  of 
Utrecht,  confirmed  on  the  throne  of  Spain,  it  was  specially  pro- 
vided, that  ''  neither  the  Catholic  king,  nor  any  of  his  heirs  and 
successors  whatsoever,  shall  sell,  yield,  pawn,  transfer,  or  by  any 
means,  or  under  any  name,  alienate  from  them  and  the  crown  of 
Spain,  to  the  French,  or  to  any  other  nations  whatever,  any  lands, 
dominions,  or  territories,  or  any  part  thereof,  belonging  to  Spain,  in 
America.  On  the  contrary,  that  the  Spanish  dominions  in  the 
West  Indies  may  be  preserved  whole  and  entire,  the  queen  of 
Great  Britain  engages,  that  she  will  endeavor  and  give  assistance  to 
the  Spaniards,  that  the  ancient  limits  of  their  dominion  in  the  West 
Indies  be  restored  and  settled,  as  they  stood  in  the  time  of  the 
abovesaid  Catholic  king,  Charles  II.,  if  it  shall  appear  that  they 
have  in  any  manner,  or  under  any  pretence,  been  broken  into,  and 
lessened  in  part,  since  the  death  of  the  aforesaid  Catholic  king." 

This  last  clause  was  directed  against  the  French  establishments 
in  St.  Domingo,  and  more  particularly  against  those  in  Louisiana, 
which,  though  trifling  in  extent,  were  beginning  seriously  to  alarm 


100 


aRANT  or  LODISUNA  TO  CROZAT. 


[1712. 


the  British,  with  regord  to  the  safety  of  their  provinces  in  America. 
Ill  St.  Domingo,  the  French  bucaniers  had  taken  possession  of  the 
western  half  of  the  island,  which  was  afterwards  claimed  by  their 
government  and  converted  into  a  colony.  The  establishments  of 
that  nation  in  Louisiana  require  a  more  extended  notice,  on  ac- 
count of  the  reference  made  to  them  in  subsequent  controversies 
respecting  the  possession  of  territories  bordering  upon  the  North 
Pacific. 

The  first'  discovery  of  the  southern  part  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
the  adjoining  regions,  by  the  Spaniards,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
has  already  been  mentioned.  The  northern  branches  of  that  river 
were  explored  by  the  French  from  Canada,  between  1672  and  1680 ; 
and  in  the  three  succeeding  years,  the  active  and  enterprising  La 
Salle  traced  it  to  its  entrance  into  the  Mexican  Gulf.  Under  a  com- 
mission from  his  sovereign,  Louis  XIV.,  La  Salle  entered  the  gulf  in 
1684,  with  three  vessels,  carrying  men  and  materials  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  colony  on  the  Mississippi ;  he  was,  however,  unable 
to  find  the  mouth  of  that  river,  and  landed  on  the  western  side  of 
the  gulf,  where  he  built  a  fort  on  the  shore  of  an  inlet  now  called 
Matagorda  Bay,  in  Texas.  The  melancholy  history  of  this  settle- 
ment is  well  known.  La  Salle  was  assassinated  by  some  of  his 
men  in  1 687  ;  and,  of  those  who  composed  the  colony,  all,  except 
six  or  eight,  perished  from  disease,  or  were  murdered  by  each  «ther, 
or  by  the  Indians  of  the  surrounding  country,  within  the  two  fol- 
lowing years.  In  order  to  prevent  such  attempts  from  being  re- 
peated, the  Spaniards  extended  their  colonies  and  garrisons  farther 
northward  from  Mexico,  and  founded  Pensacola  and  other  forts  on 
the  northern  side  of  the  gulf;  but  the  French  succeeded,  in 
1700,  in  effecting  an  establishment  on  the  coast  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  from  which  they  were  slowly  advancing  into  the 
interior,  when  the  peace  was  concluded  at  Utrecht. 

A  few  days  before  the  signature  of  the  preliminaries  to  this 
peace,  on  the  17th  of  September,  1712,  King  Louis  XIV.  granted 
to  Antoine  Crozat,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Paris,  the  exclusive  trade 
of  the  regions  of  the  Lower  Mississippi,  then  generally  known  as 
Louisiana,  for  sixteen  years,  and  the  possession  of  all  the  mines  in 
those  countries,  for  himself  and  his  successors,  forever,  on  condition 
of  their  paying  to  the  crown  a  certain  proportion  of  the  profits. 
The  portion  of  the  charter  confirming  this  grant  to  Crozat,  which 
relates  to  the  limits  of  the  territory  in  question,  is  as  follows:  — 

*'  We  have,  by  these  presents,  signed  with  our  hand,  authorized, 


S'i' 


1714.]        LOUIIIAIfA   IN   TRB    POSSESSION   OF   THE    FRENCH. 


101 


re- 


ized, 


and  do  authorize,  the  said  Sieur  Crozat  to  carry  on  exclus'vely  the 
trade  in  oil  the  territories  by  us  possessed,  and  bounded  New 
Mexico  and  by  those  of  the  English  in  Carolina,  all  the  establish- 
ments, ports,  harbors,  rivers,  and  especially  the  port  and  harbor  of 
Dauphin  Island,  formerly  called  Massacre  Island,  the  River  St. 
Louis,  formerly  called  the  Mississippi,  from  the  sea-shore  to  the 
Illinois,  together  with  the  Rivers  St.  Philip,  formerly  culled  the  Mis- 
Bourics  River,  and  the  St.  Jerome,  formerly  called  the  Wabash,  [the 
Ohio,]  with  all  the  countries,  territories,  lakes  in  the  land,  and  the 
rivers  emptying  directly  or  indirectly  into  that  part  of  the  River  St. 
Louis.  All  the  said  territories,  countries,  rivers,  streams,  and 
islands,  we  will  to  be  and  remain  comprised  under  the  name  of  the 
government  of  Louisiana,  which  shall  be  dependent  on  the  general 
government  of  New  France,  and  remain  subordinate  to  it ;  and  we 
will,  moreover,  that  all  the  territories  which  we  possess  on  this  side 
of  the  Illinois  be  united,  as  far  as  need  be,  to  the  general  govern- 
ment of  New  France,  and  form  a  part  thereof;  reserving  to  ourself, 
nevertheless,  to  increase,  if  wo  judge  proper,  the  extent  of  the 
government  of  the  said  country  of  Louisiana." 

The  description  of  the  extent  and  limits  of  Louisiana  here  given 
was  sufficiently  definite  for  the  immediate  purposes  of  the  grant,  as 
the  trade  of  those  countries  would  necessarily,  for  a  long  period,  be 
confined  to  the  vicinity  of  the  great  rivers ;  whilst  it  was  sufficiently 
vague  to  admit  of  modification,  either  by  expansion  or  contraction 
of  limiis,  when  circumstances  should  require  it.  The  charter  was 
evidently  suggested  by  that  given  by  the  English  monarch  to  the 
Hudson's  Buy  Company,  in  1669,  particularly  as  regards  the  extent 
of  the  territories,  which  was  defined  by  reference  to  the  streams 
draining  them  — a  mode  certainly  preferable  to  any  other  then  prac- 
ticable, and  least  likely  to  lead  to  disputes  in  cases  where  the  same 
territories  had  not  been  previously  claimed  by  other  nations  on  other 
grounds.  But,  as  the  Hudson's  Bay  territory  had  been  claimed  by 
p'raiice  to  be  part  of  Canada,  so  was  the  whole  of  Louisiana  claimed 
by  Spain,  in  virtue  of  the  Papal  concession,  and  of  subsequent  dis- 
coveries ;  and  nearly  the  whole  was  supposed  to  be  included  in  the 
charters  of  the  British  colonies.  The  charter  to  Crozat  was,  of 
course,  a  direct  denial  of  all  these  claims  of  the  other  nations,  and 
was,  no  doubt,  a  cause  of  dissatisfaction  to  the  British  and  Spanish 
governments.  The  negotiations  on  the  subject  between  the  three 
powers,  if  any  took  place,  were,  however,  kept  secret,  and  they  led 
to  no  results ;  the  governments  probably  considering  it  best  to  defer 
to  a  future  period  all  such  discussions  on  matters  not  of  immediate 


103 


LOCI  SI  ANA  CEDED  BT   FlUIfOB  TO  IPAIIt. 


[1763. 


a 


!l 


m. 


importance.  France  nnd  Spain  were  aoon  after  united  in  bonds  of 
the  closest  friendship,  which  continued  unbroken  until  1793 ;  whilst 
between  Great  Britain  and  Spain  there  were  eternal  disputes  with 
regard  to  their  American  possessions.  The  parts  of  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht,  between  the  two  last-mentioned  nations,  relating  to 
their  commerce  and  navigation  in  the  West  Indies,  though  solemnly 
renewed  by  each  succeeding  treaty  of  peace,  were  always  interpreted 
by  each  party  in  its  own  way ;  the  meaning  of  the  term  Spanish 
Wett  Indiei  never  could  be  fixed  to  the  satisfaction  of  both ;  and 
it  was  impossible  for  them,  in  any  case  of  alleged  trespass  by  cither 
on  the  rights  of  the  other,  to  agree  as  to  what  were  the  limits  of 
their  respective  dominions,  or  what  was  the  state  of  their  navigation 
and  commerce,  in  the  time  of  King  Charles  II.  of  Spain,  or  at  any 
other  time.  The  British  colonies  were,  nevertheless,  constantly 
advancing,  and  absorbing  those  of  the  other  powers  —  all  whose 
attempts  to  check  the  progress  of  their  common  rival  were  fruitless. 
The  grant  of  Louisiana  to  Crozat  brought  him  to  the  vtirp[e  of 
ruin  in  less  than  five  years,  and  he  was  obliged  to  relinquinh  his 
privileges.  The  Illinois  country  was  then  annexed  to  Louisiana  by 
a  royal  decree  ;  and  the  province,  thus  comprising  all  the  territories 
drained  by  the  Mississippi  and  Mobile  Rivers,  and  their  tributaries, 
was,  in  August,  1717,  granted,  on  certain  conditions,  to  the  Com- 
pagnie  d' Occident,  better  known  as  Law*a  Mitdasippi  Company, 
which  held  it  until  1732.  In  that  year  it  reverted  to  the  crown, 
and  was  governed  as  a  French  province  until  1769.  In  the  mean 
time,  the  eflbrts  of  the  French  to  acquire  the  supremacy  in  North 
America  brought  on  a  war  between  that  power,  supported  by  Spain, 
and  Great  Britain,  in  which  the  latter  triumphed  at  nearly  all  the 
points  of  contact,  and  the  others  were  forced  to  sue  for  peace. 
The  preliminaries  were  signed  at  Paris  on  the  3d  of  November, 
1762;  and  on  the  same  day,  "  the  most  Christian  king  authorized 
his  minister,  the  duke  de  Choiseul,  to  deliver  to  the  marquis  di 
Grimaldi,  the  ambassador  of  the  Catholic  king,  in  the  most  authen- 
tic form,  an  act,  whereby  his  most  Christian  majesty  cedes,  in  entire 
possession,  purely  and  simply,  without  exception,  to  his  Catholic 
majesty,  and  his  successors  in  perpetuity,  all  the  country  known 
under  the  name  of  Louisiana,  as  also  New  Orleans  and  the  island 
in  which  that  city  is  situated."  The  cession  accordingly  took  place 
in  form  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  in  precisely  the  same  terms 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  territory  ceded  ;  and,  on  the  10th  of  Feb- 
ruary following,  a  treaty  was  concluded  at  Paris,  between  France 
and  Spain  on  the  one  part,  and  Great  Britain  and  Portugal  on  the 


i  i  '1, 


1762.]        rAMILT   OOIVAOT   BUTWCCN   flPAUT   AND   FRAlfCi 


108 


i 


othor,  by  which  Great  Britain  obtained  posieaaion  of  Canada, 
Florida,  and  the  whole  of  Louisiana  east  of  the  Mississippi,  except 
New  Orleans  and  its  island.  By  the  seventh  article  of  this  treaty, 
*'  In  order  to  reestablish  peace  on  a  firm  and  durable  foundation, 
and  to  remove  forever  all  subjects  of  dispute  with  regard  to  the 
limits  of  the  British  and  French  territories  on  the  continent  of 
America,  it  is  agreed  that,  for  the  future,  the  confines  between  the 
dominions  of  his  Britannic  majesty  and  those  of  his  most  Christian 
majesty,  in  that  part  of  the  world,  shall  be  fixed  irrevocably  by  a 
line  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  river  Mississippi,  from  its  source 
to  the  river  Iberville,  and  from  thence  by  a  line  drawn  along  the  mid- 
dle of  this  river,  and  the  lakes  Maurepas  and  Ponchartrain,  to  the 
sea  ; "  all  east  of  the  line  so  drawn  being  secured  to  Great  Britain, 
and  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  made  free  to  both  nations. 

The  interests  of  France  in  the  New  World  were  so  small,  after 
these  arrangements,  that  they  could  scarcely  of  themselves  afford 
grounds  for  dispute  between  her  and  Spain  ;  and  the  two  crowns 
were,  moreover,  supposed  to  be  firmly  united  by  a  treaty  celebrated 
in  history  as  the  Family  Compact,  concluded  in  1762,  through  the 
agency,  chiefly,  of  the  duke  de  Choiseul,  prime  minister  of  France, 
by  which  the  sovereigns  of  those  kingdoms  guarantied  to  each 
other  all  their  dominions  in  every  part  of  the  world,  and  engaged 
to  consider  as  thcif  common  enemy  any  nation  which  should  be- 
come  the  enemy  of  either. 

The  claims  of  Spain  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  western  side  of 
America  were  never  made  the  subject  of  controversy  with  any  other 
state  until  1790 ;  but  her  pretensions  to  the  exclusive  navigation  of 
the  Pacific,  though  upheld  by  her  government  even  after  that  pe- 
riod, had  long  before  ceased  to  be  regarded  with  respect  by  the 
rest  of  the  world.  The  smugglers  and  pirates  of  Great  Britain, 
France,  and  Holland,  led  the  way  into  that  ocean  ;  they  were  fol- 
lowed by  the  armed  squadrons  of  those  nations,  with  one  or  other 
of  which  Spain  was  almost  always  at  war  ;  and  during  the  intervals 
of  peace  came  the  exploring  ships  of  the  same  powers,  whose  voy- 
ages were,  with  good  reason,  considered  at  Madrid  as  ominous  of 
evil  to  the  dominion  of  Spain  in  America. 

These  exploring  voyages  became  more  frequent,  and  their  objects 
were  avowedly  political  as  well  as  scientific,  after  the  peace  of 
1763.  Between  that  year  and  1779,  the  Pacific  and  the  south- 
ern oceans  were  annually  swept  by  well-appointed  ships  of  Great 
Britain  or  France,  under  able  navigators,  whose  journals  were 
published,  immediately  on  the  conclusion  of  their  voyages,  in  tht 


104 


▲LABMI    or    THK   COURT   OF    MADRID 


<  1.  ,1  ( 


[1765. 


ii'J 


most  authentic  manner  pouible,  illustraled  by  maps,  plans,  tables, 
views  of  scenery,  and  portraits  of  natives,  all  conspiring  to  afl'ord 
the  most  exact  ideas  of  the  objects  and  places  dcKcribod  in  the 
narratives.  New  lands  and  ii')w  objects  and  channels  of  com- 
mercial and  political  enterprise  were  thus  opened  to  all ;  and  new 
principles  of  national  right,  adverse  to  the  subsistence  of  the 
exclusive  system  so  long  maintained  by  the  Spanish  government, 
were  established  and  recognized  among  all  other  states. 

The  voyages  of  the  British  exploring  ships  were,  until  1778,  con- 
fined to  the  southern  parts  of  the  orcun  ;  but  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment had  been  constantly  in  dread  of  their  appearance  in  the  North 
Pacific,  particularly  as  a  navigable  communication  between  that 
ocean  and  the  Atlantic,  in  the  north,  was  again  generally  believed 
to  exist.  The  acquisition  of  Canada  by  Great  Britain  rendered 
the  discovery  of  such  a  passage  much  more  important  to  that 
power,  as  there  wus  less  danger  that  any  other  nation  should 
derive  advantages  from  it,  to  the  injury  of  British  interests ;  while 
Spain,  becoming  possessed  of  Louisiana,  which  was  supposed  to 
extend  indefinitely  northward,  had  thus  additional  reasons  for 
viewing  witli  dissatisfaction  any  attempts  of  her  rival  to  advance 
westward  across  the  continent. 

Serious  grounds  of  apprehension  were  also  afforded  by  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Russians  on  the  northernmost  coasts  of  the  Pacific. 
All  that  wns  generally  known  of  them  was  obtained  from  the  maps 
and  accounts  of  tiie  French  geographers,  which,  though  vague  and 
contradictory,  yet  served  to  establish  the  certainty  that  this  am- 
bitious and  enterprising  nation  had  formed  colonics  and  naval 
stations  in  the  north-easternmost  part  of  Asia,  and  had  found  and 
taken  possession  of  extensive  territories  beyond  the  sea  bathing 
those  shores ;  and  these  circumstances  were  sufficient  to  alarm  the 
Spanish  government  for  the  safety  of  its  provinces  on  the  western 
side  of  America. 

In  order  to  avert  the  evils  thus  supposed  to  be  impending,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  revive  the  claims  of  Spain  to  the  exclusive 
navigation  of  the  Pacific,  and  to  the  possession  of  the  vacant  terri- 
tories of  America  adjoining  her  settled  provinces,  as  well  as  to 
render  those  provinces  more  advantageous  to  and  dependent  on 
the  mother  country,  a  system  was  devised  at  Madrid,  about  the 
year  1765,  embracing  a  series  of  measures  which  were  to  be  applied 
as  circumstances  might  dictate  or  permit.  This  system,  which  is 
supposed  to  have  been  elaborated  chiefly  by  Carrasco,  the  fiscal  of 


1766.] 


■OHimt   or   THB   OOUKT  OF   SPAIN. 


105 


lof 


the  Council  of  Caitile,  and  Oalvez,  a  high  officer  of  the  Council  of 
the  Indict,  tiiiibraccd  rvforms  in  every  part  of  the  administration, 
particularly  iii  the  finances  of  the  American  dominions,  the  shameful 
abusuB  in  wliicli  had  licen  laid  open  by  Ulloa,  in  his  celebrated 
report*  prust'Oted  to  the  government  in  1747.  It  was  likewise 
intended  tlmt  the  vacant  coasts  and  islands,  adjacent  to  the  settled 
provinces  iu  the  New  World,  should  be  examined  and  occupied  by 
colonies  and  garrisons  sufficient  for  their  protection  against  the 
attempts  of  foreign  nalions  to  seize  them,  or  at  least  to  secure 
to  Spain  the  semblance  of  a  right  of  sovereignty  over  them,  on 
the  ground  of  prior  discovery  and  settlement.  The  deliberations 
with  regard  to  this  system  seem  to  have  been  conducted  with  the 
utmost  secrecy  by  the  Spanish  government ;  and  no  idea  was  enter- 
tained of  its  objects  in  17GG,  when  Galvez,  the  officer  above  named, 
arrived  in  Mexico  as  vmtad6r,\  with  full  powers  to  carry  the  new 
measures  into  ell'ect  in  that  part  of  the  dominions. 

This  Galvez  was  a  man  of  the  most  violent  and  tyrannical  dis- 
position. His  arbitrary  proceedings  in  financial  matters  occasioned 
an  insurrection  in  the  province  of  Puebia,  which  nothing  but  the 
firmness  and  good  sense  of  the  marquis  de  Croix,  then  viceroy  of 
Mexico,  prevented  from  becoming  general.  He  then  engaged  in  an 
expensive  war  against  the  Indians  in  Sonora  and  Sinaloa,  the  coun- 
tries bordering  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Californian  Gulf,  from 
which  very  little  either  of  honor  or  of  profit  accrued  to  Spain ;  and 
a  portion  of  his  impetuosity  having  thus  escaped,  he  turned  his 
attention  towards  California,  where  he  was  charged  with  an  im- 
portant duty. 

The  sovereigns  of  continental  Europe  and  their  ministers  had 
long  been  impatient  and  jealous  of  the  influence  enjoyed,  or  sup- 

*  KotidiU  sfcreliiB  ih  Jimrrira  —  Sccrot  information  rcspectinor  the  internal  adminis- 
tration of  I'l'ru,  (iuiti),  Chill',  and  N<'W  Granada,  coUt-cted  by  Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa 
and  Don  Jor^ji'j  Juan,  who  had  boon  sent  for  that  purpose  by  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment in  1740  ;  the  only  work  from  which  it  \»  possible  to  obtain  a  true  picture  of  the 
Bt'.te  of  thoHe  nountrleH,  mid  of  the  abusefi  au'l  corruptions  practised  in  them  by  the 
Spanish  ofliciiilH,  It  wiih  firHt  pul>liHhed  at  London,  in  I8'i(),  by  some  political  refugees 
of  tluit  nation,  who  had  ol)tained  possession  of  the  original  manuscript. 

t  "Tliis  title  in  j^iven  to  persons  charged  by  the  court  of  Madrid  to  make  inquiries 
09  to  till"  stale  of  thr'  colnnieH.  'I'heir  visits,  in  general,  produce  no  other  etlects  than 
to  balance  for  a  time  tho  authorities  of  the  viceroy  and  the  audiencia,  [powers  almost 
always  at  variance,]  and  to  cause  an  iniiiiite  number  of  memorials,  petitions,  and 
plans,  to  be  devised  and  presented,  and  a.-jne  new  tax  to  be  imposed.  The  people  of 
tlie  country  look  for  the  arrival  of  a  visitaddr  with  tiie  same  impatience  with  which 
they  atlerwurds  dusiro  his  departure."  —  Humboldt's  Essay  on  Mexico,  book  ii. 
chapter  vii. 

14 


106 


THE    EXPULSION   OF   THE   JESUITS. 


[1767 


posed  to  be  enjoyed,  by  the  Jesuits ;  and  the  governments  of  Spain 
and  Portugal,  though  always  opposed  to  each  other,  were  equally 
mistrustful  as  to  the  objects  and  proceedings  of  that  order  in  the 
New  World.  Suspicions  were  entertained  at  Lisbon  and  at  Madrid 
that  those  proceedings  were  not  dictated  solely  by  religious  or  phil- 
anthropic motives;  but  that  the  Jesuits  aspired  to  the  separation 
and  exclusive  control  of  the  greater  part,  if  not  of  the  whole,  of 
Southern  America:  and  these  suspicions  were  increased  by  the 
successful  stand  which  they  made  in  Paraguay,  at  the  head  of  the 
natives,  against  the  division  of  that  province,  and  the  transfer  of  a 
portion  of  its  territory  to  Portugal,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  concluded 
between  the  latter  kingdom  and  Spain,  in  1750.  This  act  drew 
down  upon  the  order  the  hatred  of  the  subtle  and  fearless  marquis 
de  Tombal,  who  then  ruled  Portugal  with  a  rod  of  steel ;  from  that 
moment  he  devoted  himself  to  its  destruction,  and,  his  plans  having 
been  disposed  with  care  and  secrecy,  all  its  members  were  expelled 
from  the  Portuguese  dominions,  without  difficulty,  in  1759.  In 
France,  the  Jesuits  were  soon  after  entirely  overthrown  by  the 
agency  of  the  duke  de  Choiseul,  the  minister,  and  madame  de  Pom- 
padour, the  mistress  of  Louis  XV. ;  and  on  the  2d  of  April,  1767, 
a  decree  was  unexpectedly  issued  by  King  Charles  IIL  of  Spain, 
at  the  instigation  of  the  celebrated  count  de  Aranda,  for  their  im- 
mediate banishment  from  the  Spanish  territories.  This  decree  was 
executed  without  delay  in  every  part  of  the  empire.  In  Mexico, 
the  Jesuits,  to  the  number  of  several  hundreds,  were,  in  July 
following,  arrested  and  sent  off  to  Europe ;  and  a  strong  military 
force  was  at  the  same  time  despatched  to  California,  under  the 
command  of  Don  Gaspar  de  Portola,  who  found  no  difficulty  in 
tearing  a  few  old  priests  from  the  arms  of  their  wailing  converts. 

Thus  ended  the  rule  of  the  Jesuits  in  California.  That  their 
efforts  were  attended  with  good  cannot  be  denied ;  for  those  who 
were  the  immediate  objects  of  their  care,  were  certainly  rendered 
happier,  more  comfortable,  and  more  free  from  vice,  than  they  would 
otherwise  have  been.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  aborigines  of 
California  are  among  the  most  indolent  and  brutish  of  the  human 
race ;  with  minds  aS  sterile  and  unimprovable  as  the  soil  of  their 
peninsula.  By  constant  watchfulness,  by  the  judicious  administra- 
tion of  rewards  as  well  as  punishments,  by  the  removal  of  all  evil 
examples,  and,  above  all,  by  studiously  practising  themselves  what 
they  recommended  to  others,  the  benevolent,  wise,  and  persevering 
Jesuits  did  indeed  introduce  a  certain  degree  of  civilization,  or 


1767.] 


KXPULSION   or  THE  JESUITS. 


107 


apparent  civilization,  among  these  people ;  but  there  is  no  reason 
to  believe  that,  by  any  moans  as  yet  employed  for  the  purpose,  a 
single  Californian  Indian  has  been  rendered  a  useful,  or  even  an 
innocuous,  member  of  society. 

There  was,  however,  no  intention  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish 
government  to  abandon  California.  On  the  contrary,  the  peninsula 
immediately  became  a  province  of  Mexico,  and  was  provided  with 
military  and  civil  officers  dependent  on  the  viceroy  of  that  kingdom ; 
and  the  missions  were  confided  to  the  Dominicans,  under  whose 
austere  rule  the  majority  of  the  converts  relapsed  into  barbarism. 
Establishments  were  also  formed  by  the  Spaniards  on  the  western 
side  of  California ;  and  the  coasts  farther  north,  which  had  been 
neglected  for  more  than  a  hundred  and  sixty  years,  were  explored 
in  voyages  made  for  the  purpose  from  Mexico,  as  will  be  shown  in 
the  succeeding  chapter. 


vvr. 


108 


I',  i 


CHAPTER   IV. 

1769  TO  1779. 

First  EatabliBhments  on  the  West  Coast  of  California  founded  by  the  Spaniards  — 
Dispute  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain  respecting  the  Falkland  Islands — 
Exploring  Voyages  of  the  Spaniards  under  Ferez,  Heceta  and  Bodega,  and  Arteaga 
and  Bodega — Discovery  of  Nootka  Sound,  Norfolk  Sound,  and  the  Mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River — Importance  of  these  Discoveries. 

Immediately  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  from  Mexico,  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  De  Croix,  and  the  visitador,  Galvez,  directed 
their  attention  to  the  establishment  of  colonies  and  garrisons  on  the 
western  side  of  Ct  lifornia,  agreeably  to  the  system  adopted  for  the 
restauration  of  the  Spanish  dominions  in  the  New  World. 

At  that  time,  little  was  known,  with  certainty,  of  any  part  of  the 
west  coast  of  America  north  of  the  43d  parallel,  to  which  latitude 
it  had  been  explored  by  Sebastian  Vizcaino,  in  1603.  The  voyage 
of  Juan  de  Fuca  was  generally  considered  as  apocryphal,  and 
nothing  of  an  exact  nature  could  be  learned  from  the  accounts  of 
the  Russian  expeditions  in  that  quarter.  Upon  examining  the 
charts  and  journals  of  Vizcaino,  descriptions  were  found  of  several 
places  surveyed  by  him,  which  he  strongly  recommended  as  suitable 
for  settlements  or  naval  stations  ;  and,  agreeably  to  his  views,  it  was 
determined  in  Mexico  that  the  first  establishments  should  be  formed 
on  the  harbors  which  had  received  from  that  navigator  the  names 
of  Port  San  Diego  and  Port  Monterey.  Accordingly,  after  much 
difficulty,  a  small  number  of  settlers,  with  some  soldiers  and  Fran- 
ciscan friars,  were  assembled  at  La  Paz,  on  the  western  shore  of  the 
Californian  Gulf,  which  had  been  selected  as  the  place  of  rendez- 
vous ;  and  thence,  in  the  spring  of  1769,*  they  began  their  march 

*  This  account  of  the  establishment  of  the  first  Spanish  colonies  on  the  west  coast 
of  California  is  derived  from  —  the  narrative  of  Miguel  Costanso,  the  engineer  of  the 
expedition,  which  was  published  at  Mexico  in  1771,  and  immediately  suppressed  by 
the  government ;  a  copy,  however,  escaped  to  England,  from  which  a  translation  was 
published  at  London,  in  1790,  by  A.  Dalrymple  —  and  from  the  biography  of  Friar 
Junipero  Serra,  the  principal  of  the  Franciscans  who  accompanied  the  expedition, 
written  by  Friar  Francisco  Falou,  and  published  at  Mexico  in  1787. 


1769.] 


SPANISH    •  OLONIES   IN   NEW   CALiroRNlA. 


109 


through  the  peninsula  towards  San  Diego,  the  nearest  of  the  places 
selected  for  the  first  establishments,  in  two  parties,  commanded 
respectively  by  Gaspar  de  Portola,  the  governor  of  the  newly-formed 
province,  and  Fernando  de  Rivera,  a  captain  in  the  army.  Each 
party  carried  a  drove  of  cattle ;  the  materials  and  supplies  for  the 
colonies  being  sent  in  three  vessels  directly  to  San  Diego. 

The  first  party  of  emigrants  under  Rivera,  after  a  long  and 
painful  march,  reached  San  Diego  on  the  14th  of  May,  1769,  and 
found  there  two  of  the  vessels,  which,  after  disastrous  voyages  and 
the  loss  of  many  of  their  crews  by  scurvy,  had  arrived  a  few  days 
previous.  The  other  body,  under  Portola,  marched  by  a  still  more 
difficult  route,  and  did  not  join  their  companions  on  the  Pacific 
shore  until  nearly  two  months  later.  A  spot  having  been  chosen 
for  the  settlement  near  the  entrance  of  the  Bay  of  San  Diego, 
a  portion  of  the  men  were  employed  in  erecting  the  necessary 
buildings ;  with  the  remainder  Portola  set  off"  for  Monterey,  where 
he  was  anxious  also  to  establish  a  colony  immediately,  leaving 
directions  that  the  third  vessel,  which  was  expected  from  Mexico, 
should  be  ordered  to  proceed  with  her  cargo  to  that  place.  This 
expedition,  however,  was  not  successful ;  for  the  Spaniards,  march- 
ing along  the  eastern  side  of  the  range  of  mountains  which 
border  the  coast  northward  of  San  Diego,  passed  by  Monterey, 
and  found  themselves,  at  the  end  of  October,  on  the  shore  of  a  great 
bay,  which  they  supposed  to  be  the  same  called  Port  San  Francisco 
in  the  accounts  of  the  old  navigators.  When  they  discovered  the 
place  of  which  they  were  in  search,  the  cold  weather  had  begun ; 
and,  the  vessel  not  appearing,  with  the  supplies,  as  expected,  they 
were  obliged  to  retrace  their  steps  to  San  Diego.  Of  this  third 
vessel  nothing  was  ever  heard  after  her  departure  from  the  Gulf  of 
California. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  people  left  at  San  Diego  had  experienced 
great  difficulties  from  the  hostility  of  the  natives,  by  whom  they 
were  several  times  attacked ;  and,  after  the  return  of  the  governor's 
party,  they  were  all  in  danger  of  perishing  from  want  of  food :  so 
lliat  they  unanimously  agreed  to  abandon  the  country  and  return 
to  Mexico,  unless  they  should  be  relieved,  before  St.  Joseph's  day, 
the  10th  of  March,  1770,  by  the  return  of  one  of  the  vessels,  which 
had  been  sent  for  supplies.  On  that  day,  one  of  the  vessels 
did  arrive,  and,  the  supplies  being  found  sufficient,  Portola  again  set 
off  for  Monterey,  where  a  settlement  was  efiected.  During  the 
same  year,  other  parties  of  emigrants  came  from  Mexico,  and  new 


'f  a 


110 


DISFCTi:    ABOUT   THE    FALKLAND    ISLANDS. 


[1770. 


establishments  were  formed  on  the  coast  between  San  Diego  and 
Monterey ;  and,  as  the  means  of  subsistence  soon  became  abundant 
by  the  multiplication  of  their  cattle,  independently  of  the  fruits  of 
their  labor  in  agriculture,  the  Spanish  colonies  in  Upper  California 
were,  before  1775,  in  a  condition  to  resist  the  dangers  to  which  they 
were  likely  to  be  exposed. 

Another  measure,  undertaken  by  the  Spanish  government  about 
this  time,  in  prosecution  of  its  plans  for  securing  the  unsettled 
coasts  and-  islan^Js  of  America  from  occupation  by  foreign  powers, 
brought  Spain  into  collision,  and  nearly  into  war,  with  Great  Britain. 

Soon  after  the  peace  of  1763,  colonies  were  formed  by  the  French 
and  the  British  on  the  barren,  storm-vexed  group  of  the  Falk- 
land Islands,  in  the  South  Atlantic  Ocean,  near  the  entrance  of 
Magellan's  Strait.  The  French  colonists  were  soon  withdrawn  by 
their  government,  at  the  instance  of  the  Spanish  king,  though  not 
until  after  an  angry  discussion :  the  British  ministers,  on  the  other 
hand,  treated  with  contempt  the  remonstrances  addressed  to  them 
from  Madrid,  on  the  subject  of  their  settlement.  At  length,  in 
June,  1770,  the  British  colonists  were  expelled  from  Port  Egmont, 
the  place  which  they  occupied,  by  a  squadron  and  troops  sent  for  the 
purpose  from  Buenos  Ayres  by  Don  Francisco  Bucareli,  the  gov- 
ernor of  that  province.  This  event  created  great  excitement  in 
England,  and  both  nations  prepared  for  war ;  but  the  dispute  was 
compromised  through  the  mediation  of  France.  A  declaration  was 
presented  on  the  part  of  Spain,  to  the  effect  —  that  the  Catholic  king 
disavowed  the  act  of  the  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  promised 
to  restore  the  settlers  to  Port  Egmont ;  but  that  these  concessions 
were  not  to  be  considered  as  prejudicing  his  prior  right  of  sovereign- 
ty ovei  the  islands :  and  the  British  minister  gave  in  return  an  accept- 
ance of  the  disavowal  and  promise  of  restoration,  without  noticing 
the  Spanish  reservation  of  right.*  Agreeably  to  this  promise,  the 
British  colonists  were  replaced  at  Port  Egmont  in  1771 ;  but  they 
were  withdrawn  by  order  of  their  government  in  1774,  on  the  plea 
of  the  expensiveness  and  inutility  of  the  establishment,  but,  as  is 


■   M 


I- 


*  The  documents  relative  to  this  dispute  may  be  found  at  length  m  the  London 
Annual  Register,  and  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine,  for  1770.  See,  also,  — the 
Parliamentary  History,  vol.  xvi.  —  the  Anecdotes  of  the  Life  of  Lord  Chatham, 
chap,  xxxix.  —  Thoughts  on  tlie  Falkland  Islands,  by  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  «&c. 
The  author  of  this  History  may  also  be  permitted  to  refer  to  —  a  Memoir,  Historical 
and  Political,  on  the  Falkland  Islands  —  written  by  himself,  and  published  in  the  New 
York  Merchant's  Magazine  for  February,  1842,  containing  full  accounts  of  all  th« 
circumstances  connected  with  this  famous  dispute. 


1771.] 


SETTLEMENT    "W    THE    DISPUTE. 


Ill 


generally  believedj  in  consequence  of  a  secret  engagement  to  that 
effect,  concluded  between  the  parties*  at  the  time  of  the  settlement 


was 


ccept' 

ticing 

I,  the 

they 

plea 

as  is 


jondon 
,  — the 
atham, 
n,  &c. 
itorical 
e  New 
allths 


*  The  existence  of  such  an  enffagement  was  first  insinuated  by  Junius,  in  his  letter 
of  January  30th,  1771,  and  was  soon  after  directly  charged,  in  parliament,  by  eminent 
members,  without  reply  from  the  ministers.  Johnson  made  no  attempt  to  deny  it  in 
his  Thoughts,  &.C.,  but,  on  the  contrary,  in  an  edition  published  after  the  evacuation 
by  the  British,  he  admits  that  the  "  island  v/as,  perhaps,  kept  only  to  quiet  clamors, 
with  an  intention,  not  then  wholly  concealed,  of  quitting  it  in  a  short  time."  That 
the  British  ministers  did  engage  to  evacuate  Port  Egmont,  soon  after  it  should  have 
been  restored,  is  positively  asserted  in  the  Anecdotes  of  the  Life  of  Lord  Chatham, 
in  the  Histoire  de  la  Diplomatic  Francaise,  by  Flassan,  and  in  the  Histories  of  Eng- 
land, by  Bisset,  Bclsham,  Hughes,  and  Wade ;  while  Coote  and  Adolphus  both  admit 
that  an  assurance  to  the  same  cH'ect  was  made  to  Spain  prior  to  the  settlement  of  the 
dispute.  The  Pictorial  History  of  England,  published  in  1841,  states  the  belief  as  to 
the  existence  of  the  secret  engagement,  leaving  the  question  as  to  its  truth  undeter- 
mined. In  fine,  it  was  regarded  as  an  established  fact,  that,  at  the  time  of  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  dispute,  an  engagement  or  promise  was  made  by  the  British  government  to 
that  of  Spain,  to  withdraw  all  British  subjects  from  the  Falkland  Islands  within  a  short 
time  after  Port  Egmont  should  have  been  restored  to  Great  Britain ;  and  this  fact  re- 
mained unquestioned  until  the  8th  of  January,  1834,  when  Lord  Palmerston,  the 
British  secretary  for  foreign  affairs,  in  answer  to  a  protest  on  the  port  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  Buenos  Ayres  against  the  recent  occupation  of  the  Falkland  Islands  by 
Great  Britain,  formally  denied  it,  and  produced  a  number  of  extracts  from  corre- 
spondence between  British  ministers  and  their  own  agents,  which  he  considered  as 
affording  "  conclusive  evidence  that  no  such  secret  understanding  could  have  existed," 
as  it  is  not  mentionec^.  in  those  extracts.  The  papers  cited  by  Lord  Palmerston,  and 
the  arguments  which  he  draws  from  them,  are,  however,  insufficient  to  change  the 
general  belief  on  the  subject ;  for  in  none  of  tiiera  should  we  expect  to  find  any  allu- 
sion to  the  engagement  in  question.  There  is  no  apparent  reason  tiiat  the  ministers 
should  have  informed  any  of  the  persons  addressed  in  these  letters  of  their  promise 
to  evacuate  the  islands ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  clearly  important  for  them 
to  suppress  all  proof  of  their  having  made  such  an  engagement,  which  the  whole 
British  people  would  have  considered  dishonoring.  It  is  no  novelty  in  diplomacy, 
that  an  ambassador  should  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  n^atters  settled  or  discussed  be- 
tween his  own  ministers  of  state  and  those  of  the  government  to  which  he  is  accred- 
ited ;  and  the  very  negotiation  by  which  this  dispute  was  terminated,  was  carried  on 
through  the  agency  of  the  secretary  of  tiie  French  embassy  at  London,  while  the 
ambassador  himself  knew  nothing  about  it. 

Equally  inefficient  to  produce  conviction  is  the  assertion  of  Lord  Palmerston  in 
the  same  letter,  "  that  the  reservation  (with  regard  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  Falkland 
Islands)  contained  in  the  Spanish  declaration  cannot  be  admitted  to  possess  any  sub- 
stantial weight,  inasmuch  as  no  notice  whatever  is  taken  of  it  in  the  British  counter- 
declaration."  In  the  first  place,  no  counter-declaration  was  made  on  the  occasion: 
the  British  minister  presented,  in  return  for  the  Spanish  ambassador's  declaration,  a 
paper  containing  not  a  word  of  contradiction,  and  which  is,  as  it  was  styled  when 
submitted  to  parliament,  an  acceptance.  These  two  documents  —  the  only  ones  which 
are  as  yet  known  to  have  passed  on  the  conclusion  of  the  dispute  —  cannot  be  sepa- 
rated in  reasoning  on  their  contents,  but  must  be  taken  together,  as  forming  one  con- 
tention, admitted  by  both  parties  ;  fir  it  will  not  be  pretended  that  the  Spmisli  ambas 
sador  delivered  his  declaration,  without  full  knowledge  of  the  answer  which  was  to 
be  made  to  it.  The  silence  of  the  British  minister  on  the  subject  of  the  reservation 
amounts,  at  least,  to  an  acknowledgment  that  the  fact  of  the  restitution  of  Port  Egmont 
was  not  regarded  as  a  surrender  by  Spain  of  her  claim  of  sovereignty  over  the  Islands, 


m 


SPANISH   COLONIES   IN   NEW   CALirORNIA. 


[1774. 


of  the  dispute.  Bucareli,  the  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  whose  acts 
had  been  disavowed  by  his  sovereign,  was  raised  to  the  high  and 
lucrative  post  of  viceroy  of  Mexico. 

The  issue  of  this  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  served 
to  impress  upon  the  government  of  the  latter  power  still  more 
strongly,  the  conviction  of  the  necessity  of  occupying  the  vacant 
coasts  and  islands  of  America  adjoining  its  settled  provinces. 
Efforts  for  this  purpose  were  accordingly  made,  not  only  on  the 
coasts  of  California,  but  also  on  those  of  Texas,  of  the  Mosquito 
country,  and  of  Patagonia,  and  were  continued,  at  great  expense, 
though  with  little  effect,  until  1779,  when  they  were  abandoned,  in 
consequence  of  the  wars  excited  by  the  revolution  which  ended  in 
the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

The  efforts  of  the  Spanish  government  were,  however,  specially 
directed  towards  the  west  coasts  of  North  America ;  and,  in  order 
to  give  them  efficiency,  a  particular  branch  of  the  administration  of 
Mexico  was  created,  under  the  title  of  the  Marine  Department  of 
San  Bias,  which  was  charged  with  the  superintendence  and  ad- 
vancement of  the  establishments  in  that  quarter.  The  port  of  San 
Bias,  in  Mexico,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Californian  Gulf,  was  made 
the  centre  of  the  operations  for  these  purposes:  arsenals,  ship- 
yards, and  warehouses,  were  erected  there ;  all  expeditions  for  the 
coasts  farther  north  were  made  from  it,  and  all  orders  relative  to 
them  passed  through  the  chief  of  the  department,  who  resided  at 
that  port. 

In  this  manner,  before  1779,  eight  establishments  were  formed, 
by  the  Spaniards,  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  America,  between  the 
Californian  peninsula  and  Cape  Mendocino ;  the  southernmost  of 
which  was  San  Diego,  near  the  32d  degree  of  latitude,  and  the 
northernmost,  San  Francisco,  on  the  great  bay  of  the  same  name, 
near  the  38th.  These  establishments  were,  in  their  character, 
almost  exclusively  military  and  missionary ;  being  intended  solely 
for  the  occupation  of  the  country,  which  it  was  proposed  to  effect, 
as  far  as  possible,  by  the  conversion  of  the  aborigines  to  the 
Catholic  religion,  and  to  the  forms  and  customs  of  civilized  life. 

The  military  arrangements  were  all  on  the  most  miserable  scale. 
The  forts,  some  of  them  dignified  with  the  name  of  castles,  were 
of  mud ;  the  artillery  were  a  few  old  pieces,  of  various  sizes, 
generally  ineffective,  and  the  garrisons  were  all  slender :  the  men 
were  badly  armed,  badly  clothed,  and  seldom  or  never  exercised, 
though  they  were  well  fed,  as  the  country  was  covered  with  cattle, 


1774.] 


SPANISH    COLONIES   IN   NEW   CALIFORNIA. 


113 


the  descendants  of  the  herds  brought  thither  by  the  Spaniards  in 
1770;  and  the  ground  yielded,  with  little  cultivation,  as  much 
Indian  corn,  beans,  and  red  pepper,  as  could  be  consumed.  The 
missions  were,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  military 
stations,  and,  like  those  of  the  Jesuits,  they  each  contained  a  church, 
generally  well  built,  with  some  ruder  edifices,  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  priests  and  their  converts,  and  for  store  and  work- 
houses. The  public  farms  were  worked  by  the  natives,  under  the 
direction  of  the  missionaries  or  soldiers,  and  merely  produced  the 
food  required  in  the  establishments,  and,  in  some  places,  a  little 
wine.  Towns  were  afterwards  formed,  some  of  which  were 
endowed  with  the  privileges  of  a  corporation ;  but  none  of  them 
attained  a  large  size. 

Tlie  missionaries  were,  as  already  stated,  of  the  Franciscan 
order,  the  members  of  which  are  incapacitated,  by  their  vows,  from 
holding  any  property  as  individuals.  They  were,  for  the  most  part, 
plain,  uneducated  men  —  taken  from  the  lower  classes  of  society,  and 
knowing  no  books  but  their  breviaries,  and  the  biographies  of  their 
saints — who  devoted  themselves  conscientiously  and  heroically  to 
the  task  of  reclaiming  and  guiding  the  barbarous  natives  of  that 
remote  region  —  without  any  expectation  of  acquiring  wealth  or 
honors  —  unsupported  by  the  ambition  and  pride  of  order  which 
animated  the  Jesuits  —  and  uncheered  by  those  social  pleasures  and 
consolations  which  our  Protestant  apostles  derive  from  their  fam- 
ilies, wherever  they  may  be  placed.  To  their  virtuous  conduct  and 
self-denial  all  the  enlightened  travellers*  who  have  visited  their 
missions  bear  unqualified  testimony. 

These  missionaries  soon  succeeded  in  reducing  a  large  number 
of  the  natives  of  California  to  a  certain  degree  of  conformity  with 
the  customs  of  social  life.  The  neophytes  were  obtained,  gener- 
ally when  young,  from  their  parents,  by  persuasion,  or  by  purchase, 
or,  in  some  cases,  by  force,  and  were  never  suffered  to  return  to 
their  savage  friends,  if  it  could  be  prevented.  They  were  all,  at 
first,  treated  as  children ;  the  nature  and  hours  of  their  labors,  their 
studies,  their  meals,  and  their  recreations,  being  prescribed  by  their 
superintendents;  and  they  were  punished  when  negligent  or  re- 
fractory, though  not  with  severity.  After  remaining  ten  years  in 
this  state  of  pupilage,  they  might  obtain  their  liberty,  and  have 
ground  allotted  to  them ;  but  comparatively  few  availed  themselves 


La  Perouse,  Vancouver,  Kotzebne,  Beeohey,  Sec. 
15 


i'' '  * 


114 


TOTAOE    or   JUAN    PEREZ. 


[1774. 


of  the  permission,  and  those  who  did  so,  for  the  most  part,  sunk  into 
sloth  and  misery,  or  returned  to  the  wilds,  and  resumed  the  savage 
life.  In  the  latter  cases,  the  Spaniards  employed  every  means  in 
their  power  to  retake  the  fugitives,  who  were,  indeed,  often  sent 
back  by  the  barbarians,  as  unworthy  of  enjoying  the  privileges  of 
freemen. 

The  Franciscans  did  not,  like  the  Jesuits,  exert  themselves  in 
procuring  information  respecting  the  countries  in  which  they 
resided ;  and  nothing  has  been  learnt  from  them  of  the  geogra- 
phy or  natural  history  of  the  part  of  California  which  they  occupied. 
In  1775,  Friars  Font  and  Garzes  travelled,  by  land,  from  Mexico, 
through  Sonora,  and  the  country  of  the  Colorado  River,  to  the 
mission  of  San  Gabriel,  in  California,  making  observations  on  their 
way,  with  the  view  to  the  increase  of  intercourse  between  Mexico 
and  the  establishments  in  the  latter  region.  They  were,  however, 
coldly  received  by  their  brethren,  who  informed  them  that  they  had 
no  desire  to  have  such  communications  opened ;  and  their  journal 
was  never  made  public.  In  the  same  year,  Friars  Dominguez  and 
Escalante,  of  the  same  order,  attempted  to  penetrate  westward 
from  Santa  Fe,  in  New  Mexico,  to  the  Pacific ;  but,  after  proceed- 
ing about  half  the  distance,  they  turned  back.  The  journals  of 
both  these  expeditions  are  still  preserved,  in  manuscript,  in  Mexico, 
where  they  have  been  consulted  by  Humboldt  and  other  travellers ; 
but  they  arc,  from  all  accounts,  of  no  value. 

Between  1774  and  1779,  three  exploring  voyages  were  made, 
by  order  of  the  Spanish  government,  in  which  the  west  coasts  of 
America  were  examined,  as  far  north  as  the  60th  degree  of  latitude. 

The  first  of  these  voyages  was  conducted  by  Ensign  Juan  Perez, 
who  had  been  long  employed  in  the  Manilla  trade,  and  afterwards 
in  the  vessels  sailing  between  San  Bias  and  the  new  establishments 
on  the  Californian  coast.  He  was  accompanied  by  Estevan  Marti- 
nez, as  pilot,  and  Friars  Peiia  and  Crespi,  as  chaplains,  from  whose 
journals,  as  well  as  from  those  of  the  commander,  the  following 
account  of  the  voyage  is  derived.* 

Perez  sailed  from  San  Bias  in  the  corvette  Santiago,  on  the  25th 


41 


i  n: 


UP 
ii'it' 


•  The  authorities  for  the  account  of  this  expedition  are  —  the  Narrative  composed  by 
Perez  for  the  viceroy  —  the  Journal  of  Friar  Tomas  de  la  Peiia  —  and  the  Observations 
of  the  pilot  Martinez  —  manuscript  copies  of  which  have  been  procured  from  Madrid. 
The  Journal  of  Friar  Crospi  was  examined  by  Humboldt,  who  has  given  some  par- 
ticulars derived  from  it  in  his  Essay  on  Mexico.  Of  this  voyage  no  account  was  ever 
given  to  the  world  until  1803,  when  a  short  notice  of  it  appeared  in  the  Introduction 
to  the  Journal  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana. 


m 


h 


Hi 


i774.J 


VOTAGE    or   JUAN   PEREZ. 


115 


of  January,  1774,  with  orders,  from  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  to 
proceed,  ob  soon  as  possible,  northward,  to  the  60th  degree  of 
latitude,  and  then  to  survey  the  coasts  of  America  from  that  paral- 
lel, southward,  to  Monterey,  taking  possession,  for  the  king,  of 
every  place  at  which  he  might  land.  From  San  Bias  he  went  first 
to  San  Diego,  and  thence  to  Monterey,  from  which  latter  place  he 
took  his  departure,  on  the  16th  of  June,  for  the  north.  The 
weather,  as  usual  in  that  part  of  the  Pacific,  proved  stormy,  the 
winds  blowing  almost  constantly  from  the  north-west ;  so  that  it  was 
not  until  the  18th  of  July  that  the  Santiago  reached  the  54th  par- 
allel of  latitude,  under  which  land  was  first  seen  in  the  east.  The' 
coast  thus  observed  was  high  and  rocky,  extending  southward  as  far 
as  the  oye  could  penetrate,  and  terminating,  in  the  north,  in  a  point, 
to  which  Perez  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Santa  Margarita.  In  the 
interior  was  seen  a  lofty,  snow-covered  range  of  mountains,  which 
he  called  the  Sierra  de  San  Cristoval.  On  approaching  the  shore, 
the  Spaniards  could  find  no  place  where  it  would  be  safe  to  anchor ; 
and,  on  rounding  the  cape,  the  coast  beyond  it  was  found  to  stretch 
directly  westward.  By  this  time,  the  crew  were  beginning  to  show 
symptoms  of  scurvy,  the  weather  was  tempestuous,  and  the  vessel 
was  small,  and  badly  provided  in  every  respect ;  under  which  cir- 
cumstances, it  was  determined  that  no  attempt  should  be  made  to 
go  farther  north.  The  Spaniards  accordingly  steered  southward, 
along  the  coast,  for  about  a  hundred  miles,  and  were  then  driven 
off  by  a  storm :  before  leaving  it,  however,  they  met  some  of  the 
natives,  in  their  canoes,  with  whom  they  traded,  receiving  sea-otter 
and  other  valuable  skins  in  return  for  old  clothes,  knives,  shells, 
and  other  trifles. 

The  land  thus  discovered  was  the  west  side  of  the  large  island 
afterwards  named  Queen  Charlotte's  Island  by  the  British;  Cape 
Santa  Margarita  being  the  north-easternmost  point,  now  called,  on 
English  maps.  Cape  North,  at  the  entrance  of  Dixon's  Channel. 
Many  particulars  respecting  the  people  of  these  coasts  are  recorded 
in  the  journals  of  the  Spaniards,  which  agree  precisely  with  the 
accounts  of  subsequent  navigators. 

On  the  9th  of  August,  Perez  again  made  the  land,  and  discov- 
ered, under  the  parallel  of  49  degrees  30  minutes,  a  deep  bay,  at 
the  entrance  of  which  he  anchored,  between  two  high  points,  one 
bearing  six  leagues  north-west,  the  other  two  leagues  south-east. 
Ere  long,  his  vessel  was  surrounded  by  canoes,  filled  with  natives  of 
the  country,  who  readily  engaged  in  trade  with  his  crew :  they  are 


116 


▼OYAOE    or    JUAN    PEREZ. 


[1774. 


reprcesnted,  in  the  journal  of  Friar  PeRa,  as  having  lighter  complex- 
ions than  other  aborigines  of  America;  hke  those  farther  north, 
they  were  clad  in  skins,  their  hats  being,  however,  made  of  rushes, 
curiously  plaited  and  painted,  of  a  conical  shape,  with  a  knob  on  the 
top.  To  the  surprise  of  the  Spaniards,  they  had  many  knives, 
arrow-points,  and  other  articles,  of  iron  and  copper,  though  it  did 
not  appear  that  they  had  held  any  intercourse  with  civilized  people. 
To  this  bay  Perez  gave  the  name  of  Port  San  Lorenzo,  in  honor 
of  the  saint  on  whose  day  it  was  first  seen ;  it  is  undoubtedly  the 
same  which,  four  years  afterwards,  received,  from  Captain  Cook, 
the  appellation  of  King  George's  or  Nootka  Sound.  The  point 
north-west  of  its  entrance,  called,  by  the  Spaniards,  Cape  Sania 
Clara,  is  the  Woodi/  Point  of  the  English  ;  and  the  other  point  — 
the  Cape  San  Estevan  of  Perez  —  corresponds  precisely,  in  situa- 
tion and  all  other  particulars,  as  described,  with  the  Point  Breakers 
of  the  English  navigator. 

From  Port  San  Lorenzo,  the  Spaniards  sailed  along  the  coast 
southward ;  and,  in  the  latitude  of  47  degrees  47  minutes,  they 
beheld,  at  a  distance  in  the  interior,  on  the  cast,  a  lofty  mountain, 
covered  with  snow,  which  they  named  Sierra  de  Santa  Rosalia  — 
probably  the  Mount  Olympus  of  the  English  maps.  Martinez,  the 
pilot  of  the  Santiago,  many  years  after,  thought  proper  to  remem- 
ber that  he  had  also  observed,  between  the  48th  and  the  49ih 
parallels,  a  wide  opening  in  the  land,  and  that  he  had  given  his  own 
name  to  the  point  on  the  south  side  of  its  entrance.  Of  this 
observation  no  note  appears  in  the  journals  of  the  voyage ;  yet, 
upon  the  strength  of  the  tardy  recollection  of  the  pilot,  his  country- 
men have  claimed  for  him  the  merit  of  rediscovering  the  Strait  of 
Juan  de  Fuca,  and  have  affixed  the  name  of  Cape  Martinez,  in 
their  charts,  to  the  point  of  the  continent  where  that  passage  joins 
the  Pacific.  Continuing  his  voyage  to  the  south,  Perez,  on  the  21st 
of  August,  passed  in  sight  of  Cape  Mendocino,  the  true  latitude  of 
which  he  first  determined ;  and,  on  the  27th,  he  arrived  at  Mon- 
terey, whence  he,  after  some  time,  went  on  to  San  Bias. 

In  this  voyage,  the  first  made  by  the  Spaniards  along  the  north- 
west coasts  of  America  after  1603,  very  little  was  learned,  except 
that  ^here  was  land,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Pacific,  as  far  north 
as  the  latitude  of  54  degrees.  The  government  of  Spain,  perhaps, 
acted  wisely  in  concealing  the  accounts  of  the  expedition,  which 
reflected  little  honor  on  the  courage  or  the  science  of  its  navigators ; 
but  it  has  thereby  deprived  itself  of  the  means  of  establishing 


1775.] 


VOYAGE    or    HECETA    AND    BODEGA. 


117 


beyond  question  the  claim  of  Perez  to  the  discovery  of  the  important 
harbor  called  Nooika  Sound,  which  is  now,  by  general  consent, 
assigned  to  Captain  Cook. 

Immediately  after  the  return  of  Perez  to  Mexico,  the  viceroy 
Bucareli  (the  same  officer  who,  as  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  had 
expelled  the  British  from  the  Falkland  Islands  in  1770)  ordered  that 
another  expedition  should  be  made  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
those  coasts  as  far  as  the  65th  degree  of  latitude,  to  which  they 
were  believed  to  extend  continuously  north-westward.     With  this 
object  the  Santiago  was  placed  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Bruno  Heceta,  under  whom  Perez  was  to  go  as  ensign ;  and  she 
was  to  be  accompanied  by  a  small  schooner,  called  the  Sonora,  of 
which  Juan  de  Ayala  was  to  have  the  command,  and  Antonio 
Maurelle  to  be  pilot.     These  two  vessels,  having  been  equipped, 
and  provided  with  the  History  of  California  by  Venegas,  and  a  chart 
of  the  whole  north-west  coast  of  America,  constructed  according  to 
the  fancy  of  the  French  geographer  Bellin,  in  1766,*  sailed  together 
from  San  Bias,  on  the  Ibth  of  March,  1775,  in  company  with  the 
schooner  San  Carlos,  bound  for  Monterey,  f     Ere  they  had  lost  sight 
of  the  land,  however,  the  captain  of  the  San  Carlos  became  delirious, 
in  consequence  of  which  Ayala  was  ordered  to  take  his  place,  the 
com  land  of  the  Sonora  being  transferred  to  Lieutenant  Juan  Fran- 
cisco de  la  Bodega  y  Quadra.     These  circumstances  are  mentioned, 
because,  in  nearly  all  the  abstracts  of  the  accounts  of  this  voyage 
hitherto  published,  Ayala  appears  as  the  chief  of  the  expedition ; 
whereas,  in  fact,  he  only  accompanied  the  exploring  vessels  to  a 
short  distance  from  San  Bias. 

*  Carte  rfeduite  de  I'Ocean  septentrional,  compris  entre  I'Asie  et  rAm6rique, 
Buivant  les  Dicouvertes  faites  par  les  Russes.    Par  N.  Bellin.    Paris,  1766. 

t  Of  this  expedition  no  less  than  five  separate  accounts  are  found  among  the 
manuscripts  obtained  from  Madrid,  viz. :  the  official  narrative  of  the  whole,  drawn 
up  for  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  —  the  Journal  cf  Bodega  —  part  of  the  Journal  of 
Heceta,  showing  his  course  after  his  parting  with  Bodega  —  a  concise  narrative  by 
Bodega  —  and,  lastly,  the  Journal  of  Maurelle,  the  pilot  of  the  Sonora.  A  copy  of 
Maurelle's  Journal  was  obtained  in  Madrid,  soon  after  the  conclusion  of  the  voyage, 
from  which  an  English  translation  was  published  at  London,  in  1781,  by  the  Hon. 
Daines  Barrington,  among  his  Miscellanies.  This  translation,  though  very  inaccurate 
and  incomplete,  attracted  much  attention  at  the  time  of  its  appearance,  and  from  it, 
and  the  short  account  given  in  the  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Galiauo  and 
Valdes,  all  the  information  respecting  the  voyage  has  been  hitherto  obtained.  Bar- 
rington's  Miscellanies  is,  however,  a  rare  book ;  and  the  notices  of  this  expedition 
contained  in  the  various  memoirs,  reports,  correspondence,  &c.,  relative  to  the  north* 
west  coast,  are,  for  the  most  part,  taken  directly,  or  at  second  hand,  from  the  abstracts 
of  the  Journal,  given  by  Fleurieu  in  his  instructions  to  La  Perouse,  and  his  Intro- 
duction to  the  Journal  of  Marchand,  which  are  both  filled  with  errors. 


I 


118 


VOTAQC    or    HECCTA    AND    BODCOA. 


[1775. 


1 

f 

1 

i 

1 

■1 

ri.t 

The  exploring  vessels,  after  parting  with  the  San  Carlos,  doubled 
Capo  Mendocino,  and,  on  tho  10th  of  June,  anchored  in  a  small 
roadstead  beyond  that  promontory,  in  the  latitude  of  41  degrees 
10  minutes.  Tho  officers,  priests,  and  a  portion  of  tho  men,  imme- 
diately landed,  and  took  possession  of  the  country,  in  tho  name 
of  their  sovereign,  with  religious  solemnities,  bestowing  upon  the 
harbor  the  name  of  Port  Trinidad;  and  they  then  engaged  in 
repairing  their  vessels  and  obtaining  a  supply  of  water,  which 
afforded  them  employment  for  nine  days. 

During  this  period,  the  Spaniards  held  frequent  communications 
with  the  people  of  the  country,  who  dwelt  principally  on  the  banks 
of  a  small  stream,  named  by  the  navigators  Rio  de  las  Tortolas, — 
Pigeon  River,  —  from  the  multitude  of  those  birds  in  its  vicinity. 
The  Indians  conducted  themselves  uniformly  in  the  most  peace- 
able manner,  and  appeared  to  be,  on  the  whole,  an  inoffensive  and 
industrious  race.  They  were  clothed,  for  the  most  part,  in  skins, 
and  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  in  the  use  of  which  they  were 
very  expert;  their  arrows  were,  in  general,  tipped  with  copper 
or  iron,  of  which  metals  they  had  knives  and  other  implements  — 
whence  procured  the  Spaniards  could  not  learn.  No  signs  of 
religious  feelings,  or  ceremonies  of  any  kind,  could  be  discovered 
among  them,  unless  their  howling  over  the  bodies  of  the  dead  may 
be  considered  in  that  light. 

Having  completed  their  arrangements,  Heceta  and  Bodega' sailed 
from  Port  Trinidad  on  the  19th  of  June,  leaving  a  cross  erected 
near  the  shore,  with  an  inscription,  setting  forth  the  fact  of  their 
having  visited  the  place  and  taken  possession  of  it  for  their  sove- 
reign :  this  monument  the  Indians  promised  to  respect ;  and  they 
kept  their  word,  for  Vancouver  found  it  there  untouched  in  1793. 
The  Spaniards  considered  the  discovery  of  the  place  important :  the 
harbor  being,  according  to  their  journals,  safe  and  spacious,  and 
presenting  facilities  for  communication  between  vessels  and  the 
shore ;  and  the  surrounding  country  fruitful  and  agreeable.  Van- 
couver, however,  gives  a  much  less  favorable  view  of  the  harbor, 
which  he  pronounces  to  be  in  no  respect  a  secure  retreat  for 
vessels,  as  it  is  entirely  open  to  the  south-west  winds,  which  blow 
on  that  coast  with  the  utmost  violence  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year.  The  other  accounts  of  the  Spaniards,  respecting  the  place 
and  its  inhabitants,  are,  in  general,  confirmed  by  those  of  the  Etritish 
navigator. 
The  Spaniards,  after  leaving  Port  Trinidad,  were  obliged  to  keep 


1775.] 


VOYAOE  or  UKCKTA  AND  BODEQA. 


119 


at  a  diitanco  from  the  conit  for  three  weeks,  at  tho  end  of  which 
time  they  aKain  came  in  sight  of  it,  in  tho  latitude  of  49  degrees 
'il  iiiiniiteM.  From  thiit  [Hirallcl  they  examined  tho  shore  towards 
the  south,  in  seiirch  of  tho  strait  said  to  have  been  discovered  by 
Juun  du  l<'ucu  in  15i)'2,  tho  entrunrc  nf  which  wus  placed,  in  Bclliirs 
chart,  between  tho  47th  and  the  4':^th  degrees  of  latitude  ;  and,  having 
satisfied  theinHelves  that  no  such  opening  existed  there,  tho  two 
vessels  cast  anchor  near  tho  land,  thougli  at  some  distance  from 
each  other,  in  order  to  obtain  water  and  to  trade  with  the  natives. 

Hero  a  severe  misfortune  befell  tho  schooner  on  the  14th  of  July. 
Seven  of  her  men,  who  had  been  sent  ashore  in  her  otdy  boat, 
though  well  armed,  were  attacked  and  murdered,  immediately  on 
landing,  by  tho  natives;  and  the  schooner  was  herself  in  much 
danger  of  being  taken  by  those  savages,  who  surrounded  her,  during 
tho  whole  day,  in  great  numbers,  in  their  canoes,  and  were  with 
difTiculty  prevented  from  boarding  her.  In  commemoration  of  this 
melancholy  event,  the  place  at  which  it  occurred  was  called  Piinla 
de  Martina  —  Martyr's  Point ;  it  is  in  the  latitude  of  47  degrees 
20  minutes,  and  on  Englisii  maps  is  called  Grenville's  Point.  A 
small  island,  situated  a  few  miles  farther  north,  the  only  one  de- 
serving that  name  between  Cape  V  nJocinoand  the  Strait  of  Fuca, 
was  also  named  hla  de  Dolores  —  Isle  of  Sorrows :  twelve  years 
afterwards,  this  samo  isle  received,  from  the  captain  of  the  ship 
Imperial  Eagle,  of  Ostend,  the  appellation  of  Destruction  Island, 
in  consequence  of  a  similar  massacre  of  some  of  his  crew  by  the 
Indians,  on  tho  main  land  opposite. 

This  disaster,  together  with  the  wretched  condition  of  the 
schooner,  and  tho  appearance  of  scurvy  in  the  crews  of  both  ves- 
sels, occasioned  a  debate  among  the  officers,  as  to  the  propriety  of 
continuing  the  voyage.  The  commander,  Heceta,  was  desirous  to 
return  to  Monterey,  in  which,  however,  he  was  opposed  by  his  own 
pilot,  Juan  Perez,  and  by  Bodega,  the  captain,  and  Maurelle,  the 
pilot,  of  the  schooner ;  and,  their  opinions  having  been  given,  as 
usual  in  tho  Spanish  service,  in  writing,  the  unwilling  assent  of  the 
commander  was  obtained,  and  the  voyage  towards  the  north  was 
resumed  on  the  20th  of  July.  Ere  they  had  proceeded  far  in  that 
direction,  the  vessels  were  separated  in  a  storm ;  whereupon  Heceta 
seized  the  opportunity  to  go  back  to  Monterey,  whilst  Bodega  per- 
severed in  his  determination  to  accomplish,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
objects  of  the  expedition. 

Heceta,  after  parting  with  the  schooner,  made  the  land  near  tho 


M' 


120 


HECETA   DISCOVERS    A   GREAT   RIVER. 


w^- 


i;  ■' 


[1775 


50th  degree  of  latitude,  (on  the  south-west  side  of  the  great  island 
of  Vancouver  and  Quadra,)  and,  passing  by  the  Port  San  Lorenzo, 
(Nootka  Sound,)  discovered  in  the  previous  year  by  Perez,  he  came 
on  the  coast  of  the  continent  near  the  48th  parallel,  without  observ- 
ing the  intermediate  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  for  which  he, 
however,  sought  between  the  47th  and  48th  parallels.  Thence  he 
ran  along  the  shore  towards  the  south,  and,  on  the  15th  of  August, 
arrived  opposite  an  opening,  in  the  latitude  of  46  degrees  17  min- 
utes, from  which  rushed  a  current  so  strong  as  to  prevent  his  enter- 
ing it.  This  circumstance  convinced  him  that  it  was  the  mouth  of 
some  great  river,  or,  perhaps,  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  which  might 
have  been  erroneously  placed  on  his  chart:  he,  in  consequence, 
remained  in  its  vicinity  another  day,  in  the  hope  of  ascertaining 
the  true  character  of  the  place ;  but,  being  still  unable  to  enter  the 
opening,  he  continued  his  voyage  towards  the  south.* 

On  the  opening  in  the  coast  thus  discovered  Heceta  bestowed 
the  name  of  Ensenadh,  de  Asuncion-\  —  Assumption  Inlet ;  calling  the 
point  on  its  north  side  Cape  San  Roque,  and  that  on  the  south  Cape 
Frondoso  —  Leafy  Cape.  In  the  charts  published  at  Mexico,  soon 
after  the  conclusion  of  the  voyage,  the  entrance  is,  however,  called 
Ensenada  de  Heceta  —  Heceta' s  Inlet  —  and  Rio  de  San  Roque  — 
River  of  St.  Roc.  It  was,  undoubtedly,  the  mouth  of  the  greatest 
river  on  the  western  side  of  America ;  the  same  which  was,  in  1792, 
first  entered  by  the  ship  Columbia,  from  Boston,  under  the  command 
of  Robert  Gray,  and  has  ever  since  been  called  the  Columbia. 
The  evidence  of  its  first  discovery  by  Heceta,  on  the  15th  of  August, 
1775,  is  unquestionable. 

From  Assumption  Inlet,  Heceta  continued  his  course,  along  the 
shore  of  the  continent,  towards  the  south,  and  arrived  at  Monterey, 
with  nearly  two  thirds  of  his  men  sick,  on  the  30th  of  August.  In 
his  journal,  he  particularly  describes  many  places  on  this  part  of  the 
coast  which  are  now  well  known  ;  such  as  —  the  remarkable  promon- 
tory, in  the  latitude  of  45 J  degrees,  with  small,  rocky  islets  in  front, 
named  by  him  Cope  Fafcon,  the  Cope  LooXrou^  of  our  maps — the 
flat-topped  mountain,  overhanging  the  ocean,  a  little  farther  south, 
noted,  in  his  journal,  as  La  Mesa,  or  The  Table,  which,  in  1805, 

*  See  extract  from  the  Journal  of  Heceta,  among  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations, 
under  the  letter  £,  in  the  latter  part  of  this  volume. 

t  The  15th  of  August  is  the  day  of  the  Assumption,  and  the  16th  is  the  day  of  St. 
Roque,  or  Roc,  and  St.  Jacinto,  or  Hyacinth,  according  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
calendar 


1 


1775.] 


VOTAOB    or    BODEGA    AND   HAURELLE. 


121 


lations, 

|y  of  St. 

i^atholio 


received,  from  Lewis  and  Clurko,  the  name  of  Clarke's  Point  of 
View  —  and  the  numerous  rocky  points  and  reefs  bordering  the 
shore,  between  those  places  and  Capo  Mendocino. 

Meanwhile,  Bodega  and  Maurellc,  in  their  little  vessel,  were 
striving,  if  possible,  to  reach  the  65th  degree  of  latitude,  agreeably 
to  the  instructions  of  iho  viceroy.  With  this  object,  after  their 
separation  from  Heceta,  tliny  advanced  towards  the  north,  without 
seeing  land,  until  they  had  pnHH(jd  the  56th  degree  of  latitude,  when 
they  unexpectedly  beheld  it,  on  the  16th  of  August,  at  a  great  dis- 


tance in  the  north,  and  much   nearer  on   the   east; 


thoug 


h,  by 


Bellin's  chart,  and  their  own  calculations,  they  should  have  been 
one  hundred  and  thirty-liv(5  leagues  from   any  part  of  America. 
Steering  towards  the  east,  they  discovered  a  lofty  mountain,  rising 
from  the  ocean  in  the  form  of  a  beautiful  cone,  and  covered  with 
snow,  occupying  the  whole  of  what  seemed  to  be  a  peninsula, 
projecting  from  the  main  land  of  an  extensive  and  elevated  ter- 
ritory :  this  mountain  immediately  received  the  name  of  San  Jacinto, 
in  honor  of  St.  Hyacinth,  on  wjioso  day  it  was  discovered,  the  pro- 
jecting point  of  land  which  it  occupied  being  called  Cape  Engano, 
or  False  Cape.     In  the  angles  between  this  supposed  peninsula  and 
the  main  land  were  two  bays,  or  sounds,  of  which  the  northernmost 
was  named  Port  Remcdioa,  and  the  other  Port  Guadelupe,  after 
the  two  celebrated  shrines  in  the  vicinity  of  the  city  of  Mexico. 
There  is  no  difficulty  in  identifying  any  of  these  places,  as  described 
in  the  journals  of  the  Spanish  voyage.     They  are  situated  on  the 
west  side   of  the   largest   island  of  the  group   distinguished,  on 
Enghsh   maps,  as   King  (horge  IWs  Archipelago:    Mount  San 
Jacinto    was,   three    years    oft(!rwards,   named    by   Cook    Mount 
Edgccumh;   Port   Reinodios   is   the  Bay  of  Islands  of  the  same 
navigator,    and    Port  Ouadelupo    is   the   Norfolk   Sound  of  the 
English  geographers.     Th(!  two  buys  have  since  been  found  to  com- 
municate with  each  other  by  a  narrow  passage,  which  completely 
separates  the  main  land  from  the  moiuitain.     The  Spaniards  landed 
on  the  shore  of  Port  lleuKidios,  where  they  took  possession  of  the 
country  agreeably  to  tlie  formalities  prescribed,  and  obtained  some 
water  and  salmon  for  the  supply  of  their  vessel.     While  thus  en- 
gaged, they  were  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  natives  of  the  country, 
who  appeared  to  be  more  savngo  and  determined  than  those  of  any 
other  part  of  the  coast,  and  also  to  entertain  very  distinct  ideas 
of  their  own  superior  rights  of  property  and  domain.     Thus  the 
Spaniards  wore  obliged  to  pay,  not  only  for  the  fish,  but  also  for 
16 


•.KM 


122 


THE    SPANIABDS    ON   THEIR   RETUBN. 


[1775. 


the  water  taken  away  by  them ;  and  the  cross,  and  other  marks 
which  they  planted  on  the  shore,  were  torn  up  immediately  on  their 
departure,  and  treated  with  every  indignity  by  the  savages. 

The  voyage  was  resumed  on  the  20th  of  August,  and  was  con- 
tinued along  the  coast,  to  the  58th  degree  of  latitude,  beyond  which 
it  was  found  impossible  to  proceed,  as  nearly  all  on  board  were,  from 
fatigue  and  sickness,  incapable  of  performing  duty,  whilst  the  winds 
were  dailj  increasing  in  violence,  and  rendering  greater  exertions 
necessary.  .  They  accordingly,  on  the  22d,  turned  towards  the  south ; 
and,  having  passed  Mount  San  Jacinto,  they  approached  the  coast, 
in  order  to  seek  for  the  Rio  de  Reyes,  the  great  river  through  which 
Admiral  Fonte  was  said  to  have  penetrated  fur  into  the  interior 
of  the  American  continent,  in  1640.  "  With  this  intent,"  writes 
M aurelle,  in  his  journal,  "  we  examined  every  bay  and  recess  of  the 
coast,  and  sailed  around  every  head-land,  lying  to,  during  the  night, 
in  order  that  we  might  not  miss  this  entrance ;  after  which  exer- 
tions, we  may  safely  pronounce  that  no  such  passage  is  to  be 
found."  This  conclusion  was  certainly  correct,  but  it  was  as 
certainly  not  established  by  the  exertions  of  the  Spaniards  on  this 
occasion :  for,  in  the  first  place,  they  confined  their  search  to  the 
part  of  the  coast  north  of  the  54th  parallel,  whereas,  in  the 
account  of  Fonte's  voyage,  the  Rio  de  Reyes  is  made  to  enter  the 
Pacific  under  the  53d ;  and,  had  their  observations  been  as  minute 
as  Maurelle  represents  them,  several  passages  would  have  been 
found,  leading  from  the  ocean  towards  the  north  and  east,  for  the 
complete  examination  of  any  one  of  which,  more  time  would  have 
been  required  than  was  spent  by  the  Spaniards  in  their  whole 
search.  Of  the  many  openings  in  that  part  of  the  coast,  the  only 
one  penetrated  by  these  navigators  was  the  extensive  bay,  named, 
by  them.  Port  Bucareli,  in  the  latitude  of  55J  degrees,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  largest  island  of  the  group  called,  on  English 
maps,  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Archipelago,  where  tiiey  landed,  and 
took  possession,  on  the  24th  of  August.  Thence  proceeding  south- 
ward, they  made  the  north-east  extremity  of  Queen  Charlotte's 
Island,  which  had  received,  from  Perez,  in  the  preceding  year,  the 
name  of  Cape  Santa  Margarita ;  and  they  observed,  immediately 
north  of  that  point,  the  wide  passage  which  they  called  Enirada  de 
Perez  —  the  Dixon^s  Entrance  of  the  English  maps,  separating 
Queen  Charlotte's  from  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Islands. 

From  Cape  Santa  Margarita,  the  Spaniards  sailed  slowly  towards 
the  south,  frequently  seeing  the  land,  though  always  at  too  great  a 


1775.] 


RETURN    OF    BODEGA. 


123 


distance  to  be  able  to  make  any  useful  observations,  except  as  to  the 
general  direction  of  the  shores,  lintil  the  19th  of  September,  when 
they  found  themselves  opposite  the  spot,  near  the  47th  degree  of 
latitude,  where  their  men  had  been  murdered  by  the  natives  two 
months  before.  Leaving  that  place,  they  next  came  on  the  coast 
in  the  latitude  of  45  degrees  27  minutes,  from  which  parallel  they 
carefully  examined  the  shores  southward,  to  the  42d,  in  search  of 
the  great  river,  said  to  have  been  seen  by  Martin  de  Aguilar,  in 
1603,  as  related  in  the  account  of  Vizcaino's  voyage.  Their  obser- 
vations induced  them  to  conclude  that  no  such  river  entered  the 
Pacific  from  that  part  of  the  continent,  though  they  perceived 
strong  currents  outsetting  from  the  land  in  several  places;  they, 
however,  believed  that  they  recognized  the  Cape  Blanco  of  Aguilar, 
near  which  the  mouth  of  his  river  was  said  to  be  situated,  in  a  high, 
flat-topped  promontory,  with  many  white  cliffs  upon  it,  projecting 
far  into  the  sea,  under  the  parallel  of  42  degrees  and  50  minutes  — 
the  same,  no  doubt,  afterwards  named  Cape  Orford  by  Vancouver. 
Having  completed  this  examination,  they  bore  off  to  sea,  and, 
rounding  Cape  Mendocino,  they,  on  the  3d  of  October,  discovered 
a  bay  a  little  north  of  the  38th  degree  of  latitude,  which  they 
*^ii  tered,  supposing  it  to  be  Port  San  Francisco ;  but  it  proved  to  be 
a  smaller  bay,  not  described  in  any  previous  account,  and  Bodega 
accordingly  bestowed  on  it  his  own  name,  which  it  still  bears. 
Having  made  a  hasty  survey  of  Port  Bodega,  the  Spaniards  sailed 
to  Monterey,  and  thence  to  San  Bias,  where  they  arrived  on  the 
20th  of  November,  after  a  voyage  of  more  than  eight  months. 

In  this  expedition,  the  commander,  Heceta,  certainly  acquired  no 
laurels,  though  he  effected,  at  least,  one  discovery,  from  which  a  nation 
more  enterprising  and  powerful  than  Spain  might  have  derived  im- 
portant advantages.  Bodega  and  Maurelle,  however,  nobly  vindicated 
the  character  of  their  countrymen,  by  their  constancy  and  persever- 
ance in  advancing  through  unknown  seas,  at  a  stormy  period  of  the 
year,  in  their  small  and  miserably-equipped  vessel,  with  a  diminished 
crew,  the  greater  part  of  whom  were  laboring  under  that  most  debil- 
itating and  disheartening  of  diseases,  the  scurvy.  Fortunately  for 
their  reputation,  a  copy  of  Maurelle's  journal  escaped  from  its 
prison-house  in  the  archives  of  the  Indies  at  Madrid,  and  was  given 
to  the  world,  in  an  English  version,  before  the  appearance  of  any 
other  authentic  account  of  the  parts  of  the  world  which  they  had 
explored ;  and,  by  this  means,  together  with  the  publication  of  their 
chart  about  the  same  time,  their  claims  as  discoverers  were  estab- 


ill 


124 


IMPORTANCE    OV    THESE    DISCOVERIES. 


[1775. 


lished  beyond  all  cavil.  Thus,  without  reference  to  the  voyage  of 
Perez,  it  is  conclusively  proved  thai  the  Spaniards,  in  1775,  exam- 
ined with  minuteness  the  whole  western  shore  of  the  American 
continent,  from  Monterey,  near  the  37th  degree  of  latitude,  north- 
ward, to  and  beyond  the  48th  degree,  and  determined  the  general 
direction  of  the  west  coasts  of  the  westernmost  islands,  bordering 
the  continent  between  the  48th  parallel  and  the  58th.  Of  these 
coasts,  the  portion  south  of  the  43d  degree  of  latitude  had  been 
seen  by  Ferrelo,  in  1543,  and  possibly  by  Drake,  in  1578 ;  Juan  de 
Fuca  had  'probably  sailed  along  them  to  the  53d  parallel,  in  1592; 
and  the  Russians,  as  will  be  hereafter  shown,  had  discovered  the  part 
near  the  56th  parallel,  in  1741 :  but  no  definite  information  had  been 
obtained,  respecting  any  point,  on  the  Pacific  side  of  America, 
between  Cape  Mendocino  and  Mount  San  Jacinto,  previous  to  the 
expedition  of  Perez.  The  geographical  positions  of  the  places 
visited  by  the  Spanish  navigators  in  1774  and  1775,  were,  indeed, 
left  very  uncertain  as  regards  their  longitudes,  though  the  latitudes 
have  been  found  nearly  correct ;  yet  the  great  question  as  to  the 
extension  of  North  America  towards  the  west  was  approximately 
answered,  and  useful  hints  were  afforded  for  the  organization  and 
conduct  of  future  voyages.  <    ■    r 

The  results  of  this  expedition  were  considered,  by  the  Spanish 
government,  as  highly  important;  a  short  notice  of  them  was 
published  in  the  official  gazette,  at  Madrid,  which  was  copied,  with 
many  additions,  (nearly  all  of  them  erroneous,)  into  the  London 
newspapers ;  *  and  orders  were  sent  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  to 

*  "  Several  Spanish  frigates  having  been  sent  from  Acapulco  to  make  discoveries, 
and  to  propagate  the  gospel  among  the  Indians,  to  the  north  of  California,  in  the 
month  of  July,  1774,  they  navigated  as  high  up  on  the  coast  as  the  latitude  of  58 
degrees  20  minutes,  six  degrees  above  Cape  Blanco  Having  discovered  several 
good  harbors  and  navigable  rivers  upon  the  west  coast  of  this  great  continent,  they 
established,  in  one  of  the  largest  ports,  a  garrison,  and  called  the  port  the  Presidio 
de  San  Carlos,  and,  besides,  left  a  mission  at  every  port  where  the  inhabitants  were 
to  be  found.  The  Indians  they  here  met  with  are  said  to  be  a  very  docile  sort  of 
people,  agreeable  in  their  countenance,  honest  in  their  traffic,  and  neat  in  their  dress, 
but,  at  the  same  time,  idolaters  to  the  greatest  degree,  having  never  before  had  any 
intercourse  with  Europeans.  M.  Bucarelli,  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  has  received 
his  Catholic  majesty's  thanks  for  these  discoveries,  as  they  were  made  under  his 
direction ;  and  the  several  navy  officers  upon  that  voyage  have  been  preferred.  It  is 
imagined  that  those  new  discoveries  will  be  very  advantageous,  as  the  coast  abounds 
with  whales,  as  also  a  fish,  equal  to  the  Newfoundland  cod,  known,  in  Spain,  by  the 
name  of  Baccalao." 

The  above  notice  appears  in  the  London  Annual  Register  for  1776,  under  date  of 
June  28th,  which  was  a  few  days  before  the  departure  of  Captain  Cook  from  England 
for  the  North  Pacific. 


1779.] 


VOTAOE  OF  ARTEXnA  AND  BODEOA. 


125 


! 


have  the  discovery  of  the  west  coasts  of  America  completed  with- 
out delay,  under  the  care  of  the  same  officers  who  had  already 
effected  so  much  for  that  object.  With  this  view,  the  viceroy, 
Bucareli,  ordered  a  large  ship  to  be  built  at  San  Bias,  and  another 
was,  at  the  same  time,  constructed  at  Guayaquil,  in  Quito.  In 
these  preparations,  nearly  three  years  were  consumed,  so  that  the 
vessels  were  not  ready  for  the  expedition  until  the  beginning  of 
1779;  they  then  quitted  San  Bias,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Ignacio  Arteaga,  who  sailed  in  the  larger  ship,  the  Princesa,  the 
other,  called  the  Favorita,  being  commanded  by  Bodega,  with  Mau- 
relle  as  second  officer.     Heceta  had  been  transferred  to  new  duties. 

Of  this  voyage  a  short  notice  will  suffice,  as  all  the  places  dis- 
covered in  the  course  of  it  had  been  visited,  and  minutely  examined, 
in  the  preceding  year,  1778,  by  the  English,  under  Captain  James 
Cook.*  A  . 

On  the  7th  of  February,  1779,  Arteaga  and  Bodega  sailed  from 
San  Bias  directly  for  Port  Bucareli,  which  they  entered  after  a 
voyage  of  four  months ;  and  there  they  remained  nearly  two  months, 
engaged  in  surveying  the  bay,  in  refitting  their  vessels,  and  in 
trading  with  the  natives,  of  whom  very  minute  and  interesting 
accounts  are  given  in  the  journals  of  this  voyage.  From  Port 
Bucareli  they  sailed  northward,  on  the  1st  of  July,  and  in  a  few 
days  saw  the  land  stretching  before  them  from  north-east  to  north- 
west :  on  approaching  it,  they  beheld  rising  from  the  coast  a  great 
mountain,  "  higher  than  Orizaba,"  which  was,  no  doubt,  Mount  St. 
Elias ;  and  they  began  their  search,  west  of  these  places,  for  a  pas- 
sage leading  northwards  into  the  Arctic  Sea,  as  laid  down  in  the 
charts  of  Bellin,  which  they  carried  with  them.  In  the  course  of 
this  search,  they  entered  a  great  bay,  containing  many  islands,  on 
the  western  side  of  the  largest  of  which,  called  by  them  Ma  de  la 
Magdalena,  they  found  a  good  harbor,  where  they  cast  anchor  on 
the  25th,  and  took  possession  of  the  whole  region  for  the  king  of 
Spain.  From  this  harbor,  named  by  the  Spaniards  Port  Santiago, 
parties  were  sent  out  in  boats  to  explore  the  coasts ;  but  the  com- 

*  The  papers  relative  to  this  voyage,  which  have  been  obtained,  in  manuscript, 
from  the  hydrographical  department  at  Madrid,  are  —  the  official  account  of  the  whole 
expedition  —  and  the  journals  of  Bodega  and  Maurelle  —  accompanied  by  several  tables 
of  the  navigation,  and  vocabularies  of  Indian  languages,  and  the  chart  of  the  coast 
about  Prince  William's  Sound,  which  is  utterly  worthless.  A  translation  of  a  part 
of  Maurelle's  journal  may  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  the  narrative  of  the  expedi- 
tion of  La  Perouse,  accompanied  by  some  severe,  and  not  altogether  jnst,  reflections 
on  the  conduct  of  the  Spanish  navigators  in  general. 


:=«  i 


'■i:: 


■|i;-. 


126 


SPAIN   AT   WAR   WITH    GREAT   BRITAIN. 


[1779. 


If 


1 

J  '. 

ill 

' 

1 

monder,  Arteaga,  becoming  anxious  to  return  to  Mexico,  soon  found 
that  the  men  were  beginning  to  suffer  from  scurvy,  that  the  pro- 
visions were  faiHiig,  and  that  there  was  no  probability  of  their  dis- 
covering any  passage,  through  which  they  might  penetrate  farther 
north ;  and  he,  in  consequence,  resolved  that  both  vessels  should 
immediately  proceed  to  Monterey.  They  accordingly  sailed  from 
Port  Santiago  on  the  7th  of  August ;  on  the  15th  of  October 
they  entered  Port  San  Francisco,  and  on  the  21st  of  November 
they  arrived  at  San  Bias,  "  where,"  says  Fleurieu,  with  more  justice 
than  usually  characterizes  his  remarks  on  Spanish  voyages,  "  they 
might  have  passed  the  whole  time  which  they  spent  in  their  expedi- 
tion, without  our  knowledge  in  geography  having  sustained  any  loss 
by  their  inaction."  The  voyage  was,  in  fact,  productive  of  no 
benefit  whatsoever,  and  the  Spanish  government  should  have  been 
mortified  at  its  results;  instead  of  which,  however,  the  officers 
engaged  in  it  were  all  promoted,  for  their  good  conduct  ncd 
exertions. 

Of  the  places  visited  by  Arteaga  and  Bodega,  after  leaving  Port 
Bucareli,  the  great  bay,  called  by  them  Ensenada  de  Regla,  is  now 
generally  known  by  the  name  of  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  their 
lala  de  la  Magdalena  is  the  Montague's  Island  of  the  English  maps. 
It  is  needless  to  mention  any  other  of  the  many  appellations  given 
by  the  Spaniards  to  capes,  bays,  islands,  and  mountains,  in  that 
part  of  America,  as  they  have  fallen  into  disuse. 

In  1779,  Spain  became  involved  in  war  with  Great  Britain,  and 
her  flag  did  not  again  appear  on  the  coasts  north  of  Cape  Mendo- 
cino until  1788.  Before  relating  the  events  which  occurred  in  that 
interval,  it  will  be  proper  to  present  an  account  of  the  discoveries 
effected  in  the  North  Pacific,  since  the  commencement  of  the  cen- 
tury, by  the  Russians  occupying  the  north-eastern  extremity  of 
Asia. 


1S7 


,;f 


1  '■'■ 


CHAPTER  V. 
1711  TO  1779. 

DiMoreriea  of  the  Russians  from  Kamtchatka  —  Voyages  of  Bering  and  Tchirikof  to 
the  Arctic  Sea  and  to  the  American  Continent — Kstablishments  of  the  Russian 
Fur  Traders  in  the  Aleutian  Islands  —  Voyages  of :  v ,  ^i  Irenitzin,  and  Le vashef 
—  First  Voyage  from  Kamtchatka  to  China,  made  o/  Polish  Exiles  under  Ben- 
yowsky  —  General  Inaccuracy  of  the  Ideas  of  the  Russians  respecting  the  Geogra- 
phy of  the  northernmost  Coasts  of  the  Pacific,  before  1779. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  coasts  of  Asia 
on  the  Pacific,  north  of  the  40th  parallel  of  latitude,  were  as  little 
known  as  those  of  America  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  ocean. 

In  1643,  Martin  Geritzin  de  Vries  and  Hendrick  Schaep,  two 
Dutch  navigators,  commanding  the  ships  Kastrikom  and  Breskens, 
explored  the  seas  near  Japan,  as  far  north  as  the  48th  degree  of 
latitude,  and  probably  entered  the  great  gulf,  called  the  Sea  of 
Ochotsk,  between  the  main  land  of  Asia  on  the  west,  and  Kamt- 
chatka and  the  Kurile  chain  of  islands  on  the  east.  It  is  also 
related,  that  Thomas  Peche,  an  English  bucanier,  sailed  along  the 
same  coasts  in  1673,  while  in  search  of  the  Strait  of  Anian,  the 
entrance  of  which  he  was  said  to  have  found  north  of  Japan, 
though  he  was  unable  to  pass  through  it,  on  account  of  the  violence 
of  the  winds  from  the  north. 

From  such  imperfect  accounts  the  maps  of  that  part  of  the  world 
were  generally  constructed,  before  1750.  In  those  maps,  Jesso,  the 
northernmost  of  the  Japan  Islands,  appears  as  part  of  the  Asiatic 
continent,  and  Kamtchatka  and  the  Kurile  Islands  are  represented 
as  one  extensive  territory,  under  the  name  of  the  Company's  Land, 
united  to  America  on  the  east,  and  separated  from  Jesso  on  the 
west,  by  a  narrow  passage  called  the  Strait  of  Vries,  or  the  Strait 
of  Anian. 

In  171 1,  the  whole  of  Northern  Asia  had  been  completely  sub- 
jugated by  the  Russians,  to  whom  the  rich  furs  *  abounding  in  those 

*  See  the  article  on  Fur$  and  the  Fur  Trade,  among  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations  at 
the  concluding  part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  B. 


..if 


1 


f   ■:.■!■■ 
i '  .    1' 


198 


PLANS    or    PETER  TUB    GREAT. 


[1728. 


I 


regions  proved  as  attractive  as  the  gold  and  silver  of  America  were 
to  the  Spaniards.  In  the  course  of  their  expeditions,  the  Russians 
had  traced  the  northern  shores  of  Asia,  to  a  considerable  distance 
eastward  from  Europe,  and  they  hod  formed  establishments  on  those 
of  the  peninsula  of  Kamtchatka.  But  they  had  not  yet,  by  their 
discoveries,  afforded  the  means  of  determining  whether  Asia  and 
America  were  united  on  the  north  into  one  continent,  or  were  sepa- 
rated by  a  direct  communication  between  the  Pacific  and  the  ocean 
north  of  Asia,  called  the  Arctic  oi  Icy  Sea ;  nor,  indeed,  was  it 
ascertained  that  the  sea  around  Kamtchatka  was  a  part  of  the 
Pacific,  though  it  was  generally  believed  to  be  so,  from  the  traditions 
preserved  by  the  natives  of  that  peninsula,  of  large  ships  having 
been  wrecked  on  their  coasts.* 

By  these  conquests  the  Russians  had  been  enabkd  to  secure,  in 
addition  to  the  other  advantages,  a  commercial  intercourse  with 
China,  which  was  carried  on,  agreeably  to  a  treaty  concluded  in 
1689,  by  caravans,  passing  between  certain  great  marts  in  each 
empire.  But  the  ambitious  czar  Peter,  who  then  filled  the  Russian 
throne,  was  not  content  with  such  acquisitions ;  he  was  anxious  to 
know  what  territories  lay  beyond  the  sea  bounding  his  dor  ons 
in  the  east,  and  whether  he  could  not,  by  directing  his  forces  in 
that  way,  invade  the  establishments  of  the  French,  the  British,  or 
the  Spaniards,  in  America.  With  these  views,  he  ordered  that 
vessels  should  be  built  in  Kamtchatka,  and  equipped  for  voyages  of 
discovery,  to  be  made  according  to  instructions  which  he  himself 
drew  up ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  other  vessels  should  proceed 
from  Archangel,  on  the  White  Sea,  eastward,  to  explore  the  ocean 
north  of  Europe  and  Asia,  in  search  of  a  navigable  communication, 
or  north-east  passage,  through  it  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific. 

Various  circumstances  prevented  the  execution  of  any  of  these 
projects  during  the  lifetime  of  Peter.  His  widow  and  successor, 
Catharine,  however,  resolved  to  carry  them  into  fulfilment ;  and  a 
small  vessel  was,  at  length,  in  1728,  completed  and  prepared  at  the 
mouth  of  the  River  of  Kamtchatka,  on  the  north-east  side  of  that 
peninsula,  for  a  voyage  of  discovery,  to  be  made  agreeably  to  the 
instructions  of  the  great  czar.  The  command  of  the  expedition 
was  intrusted  to  Vitus  Bering,  a  Dane,  who  had  been  selected  for 

*  The  particulars  related  in  the  present  chapter  are  derived,  principally,  from  the 
History  of  Kamtchatka,  by  Krascheninikof — the  Account  of  the  Russian  Voyages 
from  Asia  to  America,  by  Muller  —  and  the  Account  of  the  Discoveries  of  thd  Russians 
in  the  North  Pacific,  by  Coxe,  the  last  edition  of  which,  published  in  1803,  is  the 
most  complete  work  on  the  subject. 


Jfe-' 


1728.] 


Bering's  votagc  to  the  arctic  sea. 


129 


in 


mese 
[ssor, 
[nd  a 
it  the 
that 
the 
lition 
for 

Itn  tho 

lyagea 

kssians 

is  the 


the  purpose  by  Peter,  on  account  of  his  approved  courage  and 
nautical  skill ;  his  lieutenants  were  Alexei  Tchirikof,  a  Russian,  and 
Martin  Spangberg,  a  German,  each  of  whom  afterwards  acquired 
reputation  as  a  navigator. 

Bering  was  instructed,  first — to  e^^amine  the  coasts  north  and 
east  from  Kamtchatka,  in  order  to  determine  whether  or  not  they 
were  connected  with,  or  contiguous  to,  America;  and  next  —  to 
reach,  if  possible,  some  port  belonging  to  Europeans  on  the  same 
sea.  With  thede  objects  he  sailed  from  Kamtchatka  River,  on  the 
1 4th  of  July,  1728,  and,  taking  a  northward  course  along  the  Asiatic 
shore,  he  traced  it  to  the  latitude  of  67  degrees  18  minutes:  there 
ho  found  the  coast  turning  almost  directly  westward,  and  presenting 
nothing  but  rocks  and  ^now,  as  far  as  it  could  be  perceived,  whilst 
no  land  was  visible  in  the  north  or  east.  From  these  circumstances 
the  navigator  concluded  that  he  had  reached  the  north-eastern  ex- 
tremity of  Asia,  that  the  waters  in  which  he  was  sailing  were  those 
of  the  Icy  or  Arctic  Sea,  bounding  that  continent  on  the  north,  and, 
consequently,  that  he  had  ascertained  the  fact  of  the  separation  of 
Asia  from  America.  Being  satisfied,  therefore,  that  he  had  attained 
the  objects  of  his  voyage  in  that  direction,  and  fearing  that,  if  he 
should  attempt  to  advance  farther,  he  might  be  obliged  to  winter  in 
those  desolate  regions,  for  which  he  was  unprepared,  he  returned 
to  Kamtchatka,  where  he  arrived  on  the  2d  of  September.  All  his 
conclusiotis  have  been  since  verified ;  he,  however,  little  suspected 
that  he  had,  as  was  the  fact,  twice  passed  within  a  few  leagues  of 
the  American  continent,  through  the  only  channel  connecting  the 
Pacific  with  the  Arctic  Sea.  When  the  existence  of  this  channel 
was  satisfactorily  determined,  it  received,  ^y  universal  consent,  the 
name  of  Bering's  Strait,  which  it  still  bears. 

In  tho  ensuing  year,  Bering  attempted  to  reach  the  American 
continent,  by  sailing  directly  eastward  from  Kamtchatka ;  but,  ere 
he  had  proceeded  far  in  that  course,  he  was  assailed  by  violent 
adverse  storms,  which  forced  his  vessel  around  the  southern  extrem- 
ity of  tho  peninsula,  into  the  Gulf  of  Ochotsk.  He  then  went  to 
St.  Petersburg,  from  which  he  did  not  return  to  engage  in  another 
voyage  of  discovery  until  twelve  years  afterwards. 

While  Bering  thus  remained  at  the  Russian  capital,  the  existence 
of  a  direct  communication  between  the  sea  which  bathes  the  shores 
of  Kamtchatka  and  the  Pacific  was  proved,  —  first,  in  1729,  by  the 
wreck  of  a  Japanese  vessel  on  the  coast  of  the  peninsula, — and,  ten 
years  afterwards,  by  the  voyages  of  two  Russian  vessels,  under 
17 


U 


■i    '; 


)■    ■ 


180 


DISCOVERIES    or    SPANOBERO    AND    KRUPISOHEF. 


[1740. 


Martin  Spangberg  and  William  Walton,  from  Ochotsk,  through  the 
passages  between  the  Kurile  Islands,  to  Japan.  Within  the  same 
period,  also,  the  connection  of  the  Pacific  with  the  Atlantic,  by  the 
Arctic  Sea,  north  of  Europe  and  Asia,  had  l<ccn  ascertained  by 
means  of  expeditions,  partly  on  land  and  part.y  on  sea,  along  the 
northernmost  shores  of  the  continents;  though  all  the  attempts 
made  then,  and  since,  to  pass,  in  one  vessel,  around  those  coasts, 
from  Europe  to  the  Pacific,  have  proved  abortive.  Moreover,  a 
Russian  commander,  named  Krupischcf,  had  sailed,  in  1732,  from 
Komtchatka,  northward,  as  far  as  the  extreme  point  of  Asia,  which 
had  been  reached  by  Bering  in  his  first  voyage ;  and  he  had  thence 
been  driven,  by  storms,  eastward,  upon  the  coast  of  an  extensive 
mountainous  territory,  which  was  supposed  to  be,  and  doubtless 
was,  a  part  of  America.  Thus  the  great  geographical  fact  of  the 
entire  separation  of  Asia  and  America  was  supposed  to  be  deter- 
mined ;  and  all  doubts  as  to  the  practicability  of  navigating  between 
the  Russian  dominions,  in  the  former  continent,  and  those  of  Spain, 
in  the  latter,  were  dissipated. 

These  discoveries  encouraged  the  empress  Anne,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded to  the  throne  of  Russia  in  1730,  to  persevere  in  endeavoring 
to  extend  her  authority  farther  eastward ;  and  she  accordingly 
commissioned  Bering,  in  1740,  to  make  another  expedition  from 
Kamtchatka,  in  eearch  of  America.  For  this  purpose,  two  vessels 
were  built  in  the  Bay  of  Avatscha,  on  the  south-east  side  of  Kamt- 
chatka, which  had  been  selected  for  the  establishment  of  a  marine 
depot ;  and  scientific  men  were  engaged,  in  France  and  Germany, 
to  accompany  Bering,  in  order  that  precise  information  might  be 
obtained  on  all  points  connected  with  the  seas  and  territories  to  be 
explored. 

Before  the  preparations  were  completed,  the  empress  Anne  died ; 
but  her  successor,  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Peter  the  Great, 
immediately  declared  her  determination  to  prosecute  the  enterprise ; 
and,  no  delays  being  experienced,  the  vessels  sailed  together  from 
the  Bay  of  Avatscha,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1741.  The  larger  vessel, 
called  the  St.  Peter,  was  commanded  by  Bering ;  the  other,  the  St. 
Paul,  by  Tchirikof,  who  had  accompanied  the  Dane  in  his  previous 
voyages.  On  leaving  the  harbor,  they  took  an  eastern  course,  and 
continued  together  until  the  2 1st  of  the  month,  when  they  were 
separated  during  a  violent  gale,  after  which  they  never  met  again. 

Of  Bering's  voyage,  after  his  separation  from  Tchirikof,  the  only 
definite  accounts  are  contained  in  the  journal  of  Steller,  the  surgeon 


1741.] 


BERING  S    VOTAOi:    TO    AMERICA. 


131 


lied; 
[reat, 
wise ; 
I  from 
jssel, 
le  St. 
Ivious 
I,  and 
Iwere 

;ain. 

only 
h-geon 


and  naturalist  of  the  ship,  which  was  first  published,  in  the  original 
German,  by  Professor  Pallas,  in  1795.  Before  that  year,  all  that 
was  known  on  the  subject  was  derived  from  a  meagre  and  incorrect 
abstract  of  the  same  journal,  in  Muller's  collections  of  Russian 
history.  Steller  is  by  no  means  precise  on  points  of  navigation 
and  geography,  in  consequence  of  which  very  few  spots  described 
by  him  can  now  be  identified,  although  the  general  course  of  the 
voyage  may  be  ascertainod. 

From  Steller's  journal,  we  learn  that  Bering,  after  parting  with 
Tchirikof,  sailed  south-eastward,  as  far  as  the  46th  degree  of  lati- 
tude ;  and,  not  reaching  America,  he  then  altered  his  course  to  the 
north-east,  in  which  he  continued  until  the  18th  of  July,  when  land 
was  seen  ahead,  nearly  under  the  60th  parallel  of  latitude.  The 
point  first  descried  by  the  Russians  was  a  mountain  of  such  extra- 
ordinary height,  as  to  be  visible  at  the  distance  of  more  than  eighty 
miles:  on  advancing  towards  it,  other  peaks,  and  then  ridges, 
appeared,  stretching  along  the  coast,  and  into  the  interior,  to  the 
utmost  limits  of  the  view ;  and,  on  entering  a  narrow  passage, 
between  the  main  land  and  an  island,  where  they  anchored  on  the 
20th,  they  perceived  a  strong  current  of  discolored  water  issuing 
from  it,  which  convinced  them  that  a  large  river  emptied  into  the 
sea  in  its  vicinity.  From  these  indications  of  the  extensiveness  of 
the  territory,  together  with  its  geographical  position,  they  concluded 
that  they  had,  at  length,  reached  the  American  continent,;  and  the 
officers  thereupon  entreated  their  commander  to  pursue  the  dis- 
covery tovi'ards  the  south-east,  in  which  direction  the  coast  trended. 
But  Bering  was  then  enfeebled  in  mind,  as  well  as  in  body,  by 
severe  illness,  and  was  anxious  to  return  to  Kamtchatka ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  he  resisted  their  entreaties,  and,  after  a  supply  of 
water  had  been  obtained  from  the  island,  they  set  sail  for  the  west. 
None  of  the  crew  were  allowed  to  go  on  the  main  land,  lest  they 
should  be  cut  ofT  by  savages.  Qn  the  island  were  found  several 
huts,  which  seemed  to  have  been  recently  abandoned,  and  various 
implements  of  fishing,  hunting,  and  cooking,  similar  to  those  used 
by  the  Kamtchatkans ;  of  the  natives,  however,  not  one  was  seen. 

According  to  Steller,  the  name  of  Cape  St.  Elias  was,  much  to 
his  discontent,  bestowed  on  this  island,  or  some  other  in  its  vicinity, 
because  it  was  reached  on  the  day  of  St.  Elias,  agreeably  to  the 
Russian  calendar.  The  old  accounts  of  the  expedition,  however, 
state  that  Bering  honored  with  the  name  of  that  saint  the  lofty 
mountain  which  had  first  attracted  his  attention ;  and,  under  this 


'S 


132 


BGAINO    ON    THE    AMEHICAN    COA8T. 


(1741. 


r 


imprcBiion,  Cook,  when  he  explored  the  north-west  cout  of  Amer- 
ica, in  1778,  applied  the  name  of  Mount  St.  Elitu  to  a  stupendous 
peak  which  he  observed,  rising  from  the  shore,  under  the  60th 
parallel,  believing  it  to  be,  as  it  most  probably  was,  the  same  dis- 
covered by  the  Russions  in  1741.  Vancouver,  who  examined  this 
coast  minutely  in  1 794,  was  convinced  that  the  place  where  the 
Russians  first  anchored  is  on  the  eastern  side  of  a  bay  at  the  foot 
of  Mount  St.  Elias,  on  the  cast,  which  is  called  Admiralty  or 
Bering'a  Bay,  on  English  maps,  and  Yakutat  on  those  of  the 
Russians.  The  current  of  discolored  water,  setting  out  from  that 
part  of  the  coast,  was  observed,  in  1838  by  Belcher. 

After  their  departure  from  the  island,  the  Russians  continued 
sailing  westward,  occasionally  seeing  the  land  in  the  north,  until  the 
3d  of  August,  when,  in  the  latitude  of  56  degrees,  they  beheld  a 
chain  of  high  mountains,  (those  of  the  great  peninsula  of  Aliaska, 
und  the  contiguous  island  of  Kodiak,)  stretching  before  them  from 
north  to  south.  Upon  discovering  this  impediment  to  their  prog- 
ress, they  turned  to  the  south-west,  in  order  to  reach  the  53d 
parallel,  under  which  they  were  sure,  from  their  observations  in 
coming  out,  that  they  should  find  an  open  sea  to  Kamtchatka :  but 
their  course  was  so  much  retarded  by  violent  opposing  winds,  that 
they  had  scarcely  advanced  sixty  miles  before  the  end  of  the  month  ; 
and,  being  then  exhausted  by  fatigue  and  sickness,  they  anchored 
among  a  group  of  small  islands,  on  one  of  which  they  rerpained 
ashore  several  days.  There  they  first  saw  natives  of  America,  who 
resembled  the  aborigines  of  Northern  Asia  in  their  features  and 
habits,  and  were  provided  with  knives,  and  other  articles  of  iron 
and  copper;  although  they  appeared  never  before  to  have  held 
any  intercourse  with  civilized  people.  There,  also,  occurred  the 
first  death  among  the  Russians,  in  commemoration  of  which,  the 
name  of  the  deceased  sailor,  Schumagin,  was  bestowed  on  the 
group.  The  islands  now  so  called  are  about  ten  in  number,  situated 
near  the  latitude  of  55^  degrees,  on  the  eastern  side,  and  not  far 
from  the  extremity  of  Aliaska. 

On  quitting  the  Schumagin  Islands,  the  Russians  continued  their 
course  south-westward,  and  passed  by  other  islands,  which  were 
those  of  the  Aleutian  Archipelago,  extending  westward  from  Aliaska, 
nearly  under  the  53d  parallel.  They  were  then  assailed  by  furious 
storms,  and  were,  for  nearly  two  months,  driven  over  the  seas  at 
random,  while  famine,  disease,  and  despair,  were  daily  les*sening 
their  numbers.     <'  The  general  distress  and  mortality,"  says  Steller, 


1741.] 


DEATH    or    BCRINU. 


133 


iron 
icld 
the 
the 
the 
ted 
far 

iheir 
k^ere 
liska, 
rious 
Ls  at 
jning 
>ller, 


"  increased  so  fait,  that  not  only  the  sink  died,  but  those  who  pre- 
tended to  bo  healthy,  when  relieved  from  thoir  posts,  fainted  and 
fell  down  dead ;  of  which  the  scantiness  of  the  water,  the  want  of 
biscuits  and  brandy,  cold,  wet,  nakedness,  vermin,  and  terror,  were 
not  tho  least  causes."  At  length,  on  the  5th  of  November,  they 
again  saw  land,  which  proved  to  bo  an  island,  in  the  latitude  of  55 
degrees ;  and  on  it  they  resolved,  at  all  hazards,  to  pass  the  winter. 
With  this  view,  they  anchored  in  the  most  secure  place  which  could 
be  found,  close  to  the  shore,  and,  having  landed  their  stores  and 
other  necessaries,  they  begun  the  construction  of  huts  out  of  sails 
and  spars ;  but  they  soon  had  an  abundant  supply  of  materials  from 
the  wreck  of  thoir  vessel,  which  was  dashed  in  pieces  on  the  island 
by  the  waves. 

On  the  8th  of  December  Bering  expired,  wo  a  down  by  sickness, 
fatigue,  and  disappointment,  and  thirty  of  the  crew  were  consigned 
to  their  graves  on  tho  island  before  tho  ensuing  sumn^i'^r.  T!io  sur- 
vivors recovered  thoir  health,  and  obtained  a  sufFuiency  cf  food,  by 
hunting  tho  sea  and  land  animals,  which  were  found  in  great  nuni 
bers  on  and  about  tho  shores.  As  soon  as  the  mild  season  retur;*  d 
they  collected  tho  pieces  of  the  wreck,  of  which  they  w^de  a  small 
vessel;  and,  having  provisioned  it  as  well  as  they  cou.d,  hey  set 
sail  from  tho  western  side  of  the  island  on  the  14th  of  August,  1742. 
Two  days  after,  they  made  the  coast  of  Kamtchatka ;  and,  continuing 
along  it  towards  the  south,  they,  on  the  evening  of  the  27th;  landed, 
forty-six  in  number,  at  the  place  in  the  Bay  of  Avatscha  from  which 
they  had  taken  their  departure  fifteen  months  before.  The  island, 
on  which  they  had  thus  passed  more  than  nine  months,  is  situated 
about  eighty  miles  from  the  eastern  shore  pf  Kamtchatka,  between 
the  latitudes  of  54^  and  55^  degrees,  and  has,  ever  since  its  dis- 
covery, been  called  Bering^a  Isle ;  it  consists  entirely  of  granite 
mountains. 

Such  wore  the  occurrences,  and  the  unforUuiate  termination,  of 
Bering's  voyage. 

Tchirikof,  likewise,  pursuing  an  eastward  course,  discovered  land 
in  tho  latitude  of  56  degrees.  It  was  a  mountainous  territory,  with 
steep,  rocky  shores,  extending  on  t'i&  ocean  from  north  to  south ; 
and,  tho  weather  being  unfavorable  for  approaching  it,  ten  men  were 
sent  in  a  boat  to  make  examinations.  As  these  did  not  return,  after 
some  time,  nor  make  any  signal  from  the  shore,  six  others  were 
despatched  in  search  of  them,  whose  reappearance  was  also  ex- 
pected in  vain ;  and  Tchirikof  was  obliged,  at  length,  to  quit  the 


iJ 


-I 


$-  i.' 


134 


VOYAGE    OF    TCHIRIKOF. 


[1741. 


i  i 


l;l 


coast  without  learning  what  had  befallen  any  of  them.  In  the 
mean  time,  the  scurvy  had  broken  out  among  his  crew ;  and  as  the 
stormy  season  was  approaching,  he  resolved  to  hasten  back  to  Kamt- 
chatka.  His  voyage  thither  was  attended  with  great  difficulties, 
and  before  the  8th  of  October,  when  he  reached  Avatscha,  he  had 
lost  twenty-one  men  by  sickness,  including  the  distinguished  French 
naturalist  Delile  de  Croyere,  in  addition  to  the  sixteen  whose  fate 
was  undetermined.  The  land  discovered  by  him  must  have  been, 
agreeably  to  the  account  given  of  its  latitude  and  bearings,  the 
western  side  of  one  \.f  the  islands,  named,  on  English  maps,  the 
Prince  of  Wales's  Archipelago^  the  inhabitants  of  which  are  remark- 
able for  their  fierceness  and  hatred  to  strangers.  It  is,  therefore, 
most  probable  that  the  men  sent  ashore  by  Tchirikof  were  murdered 
as  soon  as  they  landed. 

These  discoveries  of  the  Russians  excited  some  attention  in 
Europe,  where  they  were  made  known,  first,  by  the  periodical  pub- 
lications of  France,  England,  and  Germany,  and  afterwards  more 
fully,  by  the  scientific  men  and  historians  of  those  countries.  In 
1750,  a  long  memoir  on  the  subject  was  read  by  the  French  geog- 
rapher Delisle,  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris,*  wherein 
he  gives  the  highest  praise  to  the  Russian  navigators,  and  pro- 
nounces, as  proved  by  their  expeditions,  "  that  the  eastern  portion 
of  Asia  extends  under  the  polar  circle,  towards  the  western  part  of 
America,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  a  strait  about  thirty  leagues 
wide ;  this  strait  is  often  frozen  over,  but,  when  free  from  ice,  it 
affords  communication  for  vessels  into  tha  Frozen  Ocean." 

The  Russian  government  did  not,  however,  consider  the  dis- 
coveries of  its  subjects  as  sufficiently  important  to  justify  the  imme- 
diate despatch  of  other  vessels  in  the  same  direction ;  and  no 
further  attempts  to  explore  the  North  Pacific  were  made  by  its 
authoriiy  until  1766.  In  the  mean  time,  accidental  circumstances, 
connected  with  Bering's  last  voyage,  had  drawn  the  attention  of 
individuals  in  Eastern  Asia  to  the  islands  seen  by  that  navigator, 
on  his  return  towards  Kamtchatka ;  and  the  part  of  the  ocean  in 
which  those  islands  lie  had  been  thoroughly  searched. 

It  has  been  mentioned,  that  the  crew  of  Bering's  vessel,  during 
the  period  passed  by  them  in  the  island,  near  Kamtchatka,  had  sub- 
sisted chiefly  on  the  flesh  of  the  sea  and  land  animals  found  there. 
The  skins  of  these  animals,  particularly  of  the  black  foxes  and  sea 
otters,  were  preserved  by  the  men,  and  carried  with  them  to  Kamt- 


Histoire  de  TAcademie  Royale  des  Sciences,  for  1750,  p  142. 


1760.] 


VOTAOES    or    RUSSIAN   FUR   TRADERS. 


135 


It 


chatka,  where  they  were  sold  at  such  high  prices,  that  several  of 
the  seamen,  as  well  as  other  persons,  were  induced  immediately  to 
go  to  the  island  and  procure  further  supplies.  In  the  course  of  the 
voyages  made  for  this  purpose,  other  islands,  farther  east,  which  had 
been  seen  by  Bering  ond  Tchirikof,  were  explored,  and  found  to 
offer  the  same  advantages ;  and  the  number  of  persons  employed  in 
seeking  furs  was  constantly  increasing. 

The  trade  thus  commenced  was,  for  some  time,  carried  on  by 
individual  adventurers,  each  of  whom  was  alternately  a  seaman,  a 
hunter,  and  a  merchant;  at  length,  however,  some  capitalists  in 
Siberia  employed  their  funds  in  the  pursuit,  and  expeditions  to  the 
islands  were,  in  consequence,  made  on  a  more  extensive  scale,  and 
with  greater  regularity  and  oiricioncy.*  Trading  stations  were  estab- 
lished at  particular  points,  where  the  furs  were  collected  by  persons 
left  for  that  object ;  and  vessels  were  sent,  at  stated  periods,  from 
the  ports  of  Asiatic  Russia,  to  carry  the  articles  required  for  the  use 
of  the  agents  and  hunters,  or  for  barter  with  the  natives,  and  to 
bring  away  the  skins  collected. 

The  vessels  employed  in  this  commerce  were,  in  all  respects, 
wretched  and  insecure,  the  planlcB  being  merely  attached  together, 
without  iron,  by  leathern  thongs ;  and,  as  no  instruments  were  used 
by  the  traders  for  determining  latitudes  or  longitudes  at  sea,  their 
ideas  of  the  relative  positions  of  the  places  which  they  visited  were 
vague  and  incorrect.  Their  navigation  was,  indeed,  performed  in 
the  most  simple  and  unscientific  manner  possible.  A  vessel  sailing 
from  the  Bay  of  Avatsclm,  or  from  Cape  Lopatka,  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Kamtchatka,  could  not  have  gone  far  eastward,  without 
falling  in  with  one  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  which  would  serve  as  a 
mark  for  her  course  to  another ;  and  thus  she  might  go  on,  from 
point  to  point,  throughout  the  whole  chain.  In  like  manner  she 
would  return  to  Asia,  and,  if  her  course  and  rate  of  sailing  were 
observed  with  tolerable  care,  there  could  seldom  be  any  uncertainty 
as  to  whether  she  were  north  or  south  of  the  line  of  the  islands. 
Many  vessels  were,  nevertheless,  annually  lost,  in  consequence  of 


^'^1 


:lf¥ 


^'■\ 


fnng 

Isub- 

lere. 

sea 

imt- 


*  The  islands  discovered  and  fri'C|u<'ntnd  l>y  the  Russian  fur  traders  were  those 
called  the  Aleyvtsky,  or  JHeutiav,  oxtondiiim  in  a  line  nearly  along  the  53d  parallel 
of  latitude,  from  the  south-wcat  oxtrctnity  of  the  peninsula  Aliaska,  across  the  sea, 
to  the  vicinity  of  Kamtchatka.  Alianka  wai,  likewise,  supposed  to  be  an  island, 
until  1778,  when  its  connection  with  the  American  continent  was  ascertained  by 
Cook.  The  inhabitants  of  thcsn  inlands  wcro  a  bold  race,  who,  for  some  time, 
resisted  the  Russians,  but  wore  finally  subdued,  after  their  numbers  had  been  con- 
siderably reduced. 


VOYAGES    or    RUSSIAN    FUR   TRADERS. 


[1760. 


this  want  of  knowledge  of  the  coasts,  and  want  of  means  to  ascer- 
tain positions  at  sea ;  and  a  large  number  of  those  engaged  in  the 
trade,  moreover,  fell  victims  to  cold,  starvation,  and  scurvy,  and  to  the 
enmity  of  the  bold  natives  of  the  islands.  Even  as  lately  as  1806,'**' 
it  was  calculated  that  one  third  of  these  vessels  were  lost  in  each 
year.  The  history  of  the  Russian  trade  and  establishments  on  the 
North  Pacific,  is  a  series  of  details  of  dreadful  disasters  and  suffer- 
ings ;  and,  whatever  opinions  may  be  entertained  as  to  the  humanity 
of  the  adventurers,  or  the  morality  of  their  proceedings,  the  courage 
and  perseverance  displayed  by  them,  in  struggling  against  such 
appalling  difficulties,  must  command  universal  admiration. 

The  furs  collected,  by  these  means,  at  Avatscha  and  Ochotsk,  the 
principal  fur-trading  ports,  were  carried  to  Irkutsk,  the  capital  of 
Eastern  Siberia,  whence  some  of  them  were  taken  to  Europe ;  the 
greater  portion  were,  however,  sent  to  EtaJcta,  a  small  town  just 
within  the  Russian  frontier,  close  to  the  Chinese  town  of  Maimatchin, 
through  which  places  all  the  commerce  between  these  two  empires 
passed,  agreeably  to  a  treaty  concluded  at  Kiakta,  in  1728.  In 
return  for  the  furs,  which  brought  higher  prices  in  China  than  any 
where  else,  teas,  tobacco,  rice,  porcelain,  and  silk  and  cotton  goods, 
were  brought  to  Irkutsk,  whence  all  the  most  valuable  of  those 
articles  were  sent  to  Europe.  These  transportations  were  effected 
by  land,  except  in  some  places,  where  the  rivers  were  used  as  the 
channel  of  conveyance;  no  commercial  exportation  having  been 
made  from  Eastern  Russia,  by  sea,  before  1779 :  and,  when  the 
immense  distances,f  between  some  of  the  points  above  mentioned, 
are  considered,  it  becomes  evident  that  none  but  objects  of  great 
value,  in  comparison  with  their  bulk,  at  the  place  of  their  con- 
sumption, could  have  been  thus  transported,  with  profit  to  those 
engaged  in  the  trade,  and  that  a  large  portion  of  the  price  paid  by 
the  consumer  must  have  been  absorbed  by  the  expense  of  trans- 
portation. A  skin  was,  in  fact,  generally  worth,  at  Kiakta,  three 
times  as  much  as  it  cost  at  Ochotsk. 

The  Russian  government  appears  to  have  remained  almost  en- 
tirely unacquainted  with  the  voyages  and  discoveries  of  its  subjects, 


*  Krusenstern'R  journal  of  his  voyage  to  the  North  Pacific. 

t  In  the  following  table,  each  number  ezpresaes  nearly  the  distance,  in  geographical 
miles,  between  the  places  named  on  either  side  of  it :  — 

St.  Petersburg,  460,  Moscow,  1500,  Tobolsk,  1800,  IrkuUk,  1550,  Yakutsk,  600, 
Ochotsk,  1300,  Petropawlowsk,  on  the  Bay  of  Avatscha;  Irkutsk,  300,  ICiakte, 
1000,  Pekin. 


1768.] 


VOYAGE   OF   KHENITZTN   akd  levaschef. 


187 


en- 

tcts, 


lical 


engaged  in  the  fur  trade  of  the  North  Pacific,  until  1764,  when  the 
empress  Catharine  II.  ordered  that  proper  measures  should  be 
taken  to  pro'^^Tre  exact  information  with  regard  to  the  islands,  and 
the  Americ.n  i  oasts,  opposite  her  dominions  in  Asia.  This  am- 
bitious sovereign  had  then  just  ascended  the  throne,  and  was,  or 
chose  to  appear,  determined  to  carry  out  the  views  of  Peter  the 
Great  for  the  extension  of  the  Russian  empire  eastward  beyond  the 
Pacific. 

Agreeably  to  the  orders  of  Catharine,  Lieutenant  Synd  sailed,  in 
1766,  from  Ochotsk,  and  advanced  northward,  along  the  coast  of 
Kamtchatka,  as  far  as  the  66th  degree  of  latitude ;  and,  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  he  made  another  voyage  in  the  same  direction,  in 
which  he  is  supposed  to  have  landed  on  the  American  continent. 
Very  few  particulars  respecting  his  expeditions  are,  however,  known, 
as  the  Russian  government  appears  to  have  suppressed  all  accounts 
of  them,  for  reasons  which  have  been  suggested,  but  which  it  is 
unnecessary  here  to  repeat. 

In  1768,  another  expedition  was  commenced,  for  the  purpose  of 
surveying  the  islands.  With  this  object,  Captains  Krenitzin  and 
Levaschef  quitted  the  mouth  of  Kamtchatka  River,  in  July,  each 
commanding  a  small  vessel ;  and,  after  cursorily  examining  Bering's 
Isle,  and  others  near  the  coast  of  the  peninsula,  they  stretched 
across  to  the  Fox  Islands,  the  largest  and  easternmost  of  the  Archi- 
pelago, among  which  they  passed  the  winter.  Before  the  ensuing 
summer,  nearly  half  the  crews  of  both  vessels  had  perished  from 
scurvy ;  and,  when  the  navigators  returned  to  Kamtchatka,  in 
October,  1769,  they  had  done  nothing  more  than  to  ascertain,  ap- 
proximately, the  geographical  positions  of  a, few  points  in  the  Aleu- 
tian chain.  It  appears,  indeed,  that  Krenitzin  had  employed  him- 
self exclusively  in  collecting  furs,  with  which  his  vessel  was  laden 
on  her  arrival  from  her  voyage.  The  only  valuable  information  ob- 
tained by  the  Russian  government,  through  this  costly  expedition, 
related  to  the  mode  of  conducting  the  fur  trade  between  Kamt- 
chatka and  the  islands ;  upon  which  subject  the  reports  of  Levaschef 
were  curious  and  instructive,  and  served  to  direct  the  government 
in  its  first  administrative  dispositions,  with  regard  to  the  newly- 
discovered  territories. 

The  expedition  of  Krenitzin  and  Levaschef  was  the  last  made  by 

the  Russians  in  the  North  Pacific,  for  purposes  of  discovery  or 

investigation,  before  1783.     In  1771,  however,  took  place  the  first 

voyage  from  the  eastern  coast  of  the  empire,  to  a  port  frequented 

18 


fe; 


■:  i- 


I 


138 


TOTAOB  or  BENTOWSKT. 


[1771 


by  the  ships  of  European  nations ;  and,  strange  to  say,  this  voyage 
was  conducted  under  the  Polish  fiag !  In  the  month  of  May  of 
that  year,  a  few  persons,  chiefly  Poles,  who  had  been  exiled  to 
Kamtchatka  for  political  reasons,  succeeded  in  overpowering  the 
garrison  of  the  small  town  of  Bolscheretsk,  on  the  south-west  side 
of  Kamtchatka,  where  they  weve  detained,  and  escaped  to  sea  in 
a  vessel  then  lying  in  the  harbor.  They  were  directed  in  their 
enterprise  by  Count  Maurice  de  Benyowsky,  a  Hungarian,  who  had 
been  an  officer  in  the  Polish  service,  and  from  whose  history  of  his 
own  life,  afterwards  published,  all  the  accounts  of  their  adventures 
are  derived.  From  these  accounts,  it  appears  that  the  fugitives,  on 
entering  the  Pacific,  were  driven  northward  as  far  as  the  66th 
degree  of  latitude;  during  which  part  of  their  voyage,  they  fre- 
quently saw  the  coasts  of  both  continents,  and  visited  several  of 
the  Aleutian  Islands.  At  Bering's  Isle  they  found  a  number  of 
fugitive  exiles,  like  themselves,  established  in  possession,  under  the 
command  of  a  Saxon ;  and  at  Unalashka,  the  largest  of  the  group, 
they  discovered  crosses,  with  inscriptions,  erected  by  Krenitzin,  in 
1768.  I'roceeding  thence  towards  the  south,  they  touched  at 
several  places  in  the  Kurile,  Japan,  and  Loochoo  Islands,  as  also 
at  Formosa;  and,  at  length,  in  September,  they  arrived  at  Canton, 
where  they  carried  the  first  furs  which  ever  entered  that  city  by  sea.* 
A  circumstantial  account  of  the  principal  voyages  and  discoveries 
of  the  Russians,  made  between  1741  and  1770,  drawn  from  original 
sources,  wm  published  at  St.  Petersburg,  in  1774,  by  J.  L.  Stcehlin, 
councillor  of  state  to  the  empress.f  These  records  are  curious  and 
interesting,  but  they  throw  very  little  light  on  the  great  geographical 
questions  relative  to  that  part  of  the  world,  which  then  remained 
unsolved  ;  and  the  accompanying  chart  only  serves,  at  present,  to 
show  more  conspicuously  the  value  of  the  discoveries  eflfected  by 
other  nations.  According  to  this  chart,  the  American  coast  ex- 
tended, on  the  Pacific,  in  a  line  nearly  due  north-west  from  Cali- 

*  Memoirs  and  Travels  of  Maurice  Augustus  Count  de  Benyowsky,  written  by 
himself,  published  at  London,  in  1790.  Benyowsky's  account  of  his  escape  from 
Kamtchatka,  and  his  voyage  to  China,  were  for  some  time  discredited ;  but  they  have 
since  been  confirmed,  at  least  as  regards  the  principal  circumstances.  He  afterwards 
had  a  variety  of  adventures,  especially  in  Madagascar,  of  which  he  pretended  to  be 
the  rightful  sovereign  ;  and  he  was,  at  length,  killed  at  Foul  Point,  in  that  island,  in 
May,  1786,  while  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  Europeans  and  natives,  in  a  contest  with 
the  French  from  the  Isle  of  France. 

t  Description  of  the  newly-discovered  Islands  in  the  Sea  between  ^sia  and 
America.  A  translation  of  the  greater  part  of  this  work  may  be  found  in  the  last 
edition  of  Coxe's  History  of  Russian  Discoveries. 


by 

from 
Ihave 
i'arda 
lo  be 
Id,  in 
Iwith 


1776.] 


ERRORS    IN   THE    EARLY    RUSSIAN    MAPS. 


139 


fornia,  to  the  70th  degree  of  latitude,  and  was  separated  from  the 
opposite  coast  of  Asia  by  a  wide  expanse  of  sea,  containing  many 
islands,  several  of  which  correspond  in  name  with  those  of  the 
Aleutian  Archipelago,  though  the  positions  assigned  to  them  are 
far  from  correct:  the  largest  of  the  islands  there  represented, 
called  Alascha,  lies  under  the  67th  parallel,  between  the  western- 
most point  of  America  and  the  most  eastern  of  Asia.  In  the  beau- 
tiful map  of  the  Russian  empire,  published  at  St.  Petersburg  by 
Treschot  and  Schmidt,  in  1776,  no  land,  except  some  islands,  ap- 
pears within  twenty-five  degrees  of  longitude  east  of  Kamtchatka. 
Other  maps,  however,  which  appeared  at  a  much  earlier  period, 
offer  a  view  more  nearly  correct  of  the  extreme  north-western  coasts 
of  America,  although  the  geographer  who  constructed  them  must 
have  been  guided  almost  entirely  by  suppositions. 

The  errors  of  latitude,  in  all  these  maps,  were  very  great,  amount- 
ing to  ten  degrees,  in  some  instances ;  and  those  of  longitude  were, 
as  may  be  readily  supposed,  much  more  considerable.  Indeed, 
before  1778,  when  Cook  made  his  voyage  through  the  North 
Pacific,  the  differences  in  longitude,  between  places  in  that  part 
of  the  ocean,  had  never  been  estimated  otherwise  than  by  the  dead 
reckoning,  which,  however  carefully  observed,  cannot  afford  accurate 
results ;  nor  had  any  relation,  which  could  be  considered  as  nearly 
correct,  been  established  between  the  meridian  of  any  point  on  the 
Atlantic  and  that  of  any  point  on  the  North  Pacific. 


m 


and 
last 


140 


I 


it 


■•"y 


'% 


CHAPTER   VI. 

1763  TO  1780. 

Great  Britain  obtains  Possession  of  Canada  —  Journey  of  Carver  to  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi —  First  Mention  of  the  Oregon  River  —  Inaccuracy  of  Carver's  Statements 
—  Journeys  of  Hearne  through  the  Regions  west  of  Hudson's  Bay — Voyage  of 
Captain  Cook  to  the  North  Pacific  —  His  important  Discoveries  in  that  Quarter, 
and  Death  —  Return  of  his  Ships  to  Europe;  Occurrences  at  Canton  during  their 
Stay  in  that  Port. 

Whilst  the  Russians  were  thus  prosecuting  the  fur  trade  on 
the  north-westernmost  coasts  of  America,  the  British  were  engaged 
in  the  same  pursuit  on  the  north-eastern  side  of  the  continent. 

It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  King  Charles  II.  of  England, 
in  1669,  granted  to  an  association  of  gentlemen  and  merchants  of 
London  the  possession  of  all  the  territories  surrounding  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  the  exclusive  trade  in  those  regions,  with  the  object,  ex- 
pressed in  the  charter,  of  encouraging  his  subjects  to  prosecute  the 
search  for  a  north-west  passage  for  ships  from  that  sea  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Under  the  protection  of  this  charter,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  erected  forts  and  trading  establishments  on  the  shores  of 
the  bay,  and  carried  on  an  extensive  and  profitable  trade  with  the 
natives  of  that  part  of  America,  to  the  annoyance  of  the  French, 
who,  also,  claimed  the  country  as  part  of  Canada,  and  more  than 
once  dislodged  the  British  traders.  It  was,  indeed,  provided  by 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1714,  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories 
should  belong  to  the  former  nation,  and  that  commissaries  should 
be  appointed,  on  both  sides,  to  settle  the  line  separating  those  terri- 
tories from  Canada:  but  no  such  boundary  was  ever  fixed,  by 
commissaries  or  otherwise,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter ;  *  and  the 
limits  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories  remained  undetermined  in 
1763,  when  Canada,  with  all  the  other  dominions  of  France  in 
North  America,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  were  ceded  to  Great  Britain 
by  the  treaty  of  Paris. 

*  See  chap,  ziii.,  and  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  letter  F. 


1766.] 


CANADA    CEDED   TO    GREAT    BRITAIN. 


141 


in 

in 

lain 


How  far  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  also,  endeavored  to  fulfil 
the  intention  expressed  in   the   charter,  of  promoting  the  search 
for  a  north-west  passage,  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  inquire ;  suffice 
it  to  say,  that,  at  the  end  of  a  century  from  the  date  of  the  con- 
cession, the  question,  as  to  the  existence  of  such  a  channel,  was 
nearly  in  the  same  state  as  at  the  commencement  of  that  period. 
Hudson's  Bay  had  been  navigated  by  Middleton,  in  1741,  to  the 
6Gth  degree  of  latitude,  beyond  which  it  was  known  to  extend ; 
Baffin's  Bay  had  not  been  visited  since  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  when  it  was  examined  imperfectly  to  the  74th 
parallel.     The  territories  west  of  both  these  seas  were  entirely  unex- 
plored ;  but  accounts,  which  seemed  to  merit  some  credit,  had  been 
received  from  the  Indians,  of  great  rivers  and  other  waters  in  that 
direction.     The   desired   communication  with   the  Pacific  might, 
therefore,  exist ;  or  the  Pacific,  or  some  navigable  river  falling  into 
it,  might  be  found  witliin  a  short  distance  of  places  on  the  Atlantic 
side  of  the  continent,  accessible  to  vessels  from  Europe :  and  the 
determination  of  these  questions  became  infinitely  more  important 
to  Great  Britain,  after  the  acquisition  of  Canada. 

The  region  extending  south-west,  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  the 
great  lakes,  and  the  head  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  had  long  been 
frequented  by  the  traders  from  Canada  and  Louisiana,  and  had  been 
partially  surveyed  by  French  officers  and  missionaries,  by  whom 
several  journals,  histories,  and  maps,  relating  to  those  countries, 
had  been  given  to  the  world.  This  region  was  also  visited,  imme- 
diately after  the  transfer  of  Canada  to  Great  Britain,  by  an  Amer- 
ican, whose  travels  are  here  mentioned,  because  he  is  supposed  to 
have  thrown  much  light  upon  the  geography  of  North-west  America 
by  his  own  observations,  and  by  information  collected  from  the 
Indians  of  the  Upper  Mississippi. 

This  traveller.  Captain  Jonathan  Carver,  of  Connecticut,  who 
had  served  with  some  credit  in  the  war  against  the  French,  partic- 
ularly in  the  country  about  Lakes  Champlain  and  George,  set  out 
from  Boston  in  1766,  and  proceeded,  by  way  of  Detroit  and 
Michilimackinac,  to  the  regions  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  now 
forming  the  territories  of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa,  where  he  spent 
two  years  among  the  Indians.  His  object  was,  as  he  says  in  the 
introduction  to  his  narrative,  "after  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the 
manners,  customs,  languages,  soil,  and  natural  productions,  of  the 
different  nations  that  inhabit  the  back  of  the  Mississippi,  to  ascer- 
tain the  breadth  of  the  vast  continent  which  extends  from  the 


148 


TRAVELS    or    CARTER. 


[1766. 


1 


i'i 


Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  its  broadest  part,  between  the  43(1 
and  the  46th  degrees  of  northern  latitude.  Had  I  been  able,"  he 
continues,  "to  accomplish  this,  I  intended  to  have  proposed  to 
government  to  establish  a  post  in  some  of  those  parts,  about  the 
Strait  of  Anian,  which,  having  been  discovered  by  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  of  course  belongs  to  the  English.  This,  I  am  convinced, 
would  greatly  facilitate  the  discovery  of  a  north-west  passage,  or 
communication  between  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  Pacific  Ocean." 
This  extensive  plan  he  was,  however,  unable  to  pursue,  having 
been  disappointed  in  his  intention  to  purchase  goods,  and  then  to 
pursue  his  journey  from  the  Upper  Mississippi,  "by  way  of  the 
Lakes  Dubois,  Dupluie,  and  Ouinipique,  [the  old  French  names  of 
Rainy  Lake,  Lake  of  the  Woods,  and  Lake  Winnipeg,]  to  the  head 
waters  of  the  Great  River  of  the  West,  which  falls  into  the  Strait  of 
Anian."  * 

This  Great  River  of  the  West  is  several  times  mentioned  by  Carver, 
under  the  name  of  Oregon,  or  Origan.  In  another  part  of  his 
introduction,  he  refers  to  his  account,  in  the  journal,  "of  the 
situation  of  the  four  great  rivers  that  take  their  rise  within  a  few 
leagues  of  each  other,  nearly  about  the  centre  of  the  great  con- 
tinent, viz.,  the  River  Bourbon,  [Red  River  of  the  north,]  which 
empties  itself  into  Hudson's  Bay,  the  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  River  Oregon,  or  River  of  the  West,  that 
falls  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  the  Straits  of  Anian."  At  the  con- 
clusion of  his  work,  also,  in  speaking  of  a  project  which  had  been 
formed,  in  1774,  by  himself,  Mr.  Whitworth,  a  member  of  the 
British  parliament,  a.;d  other  persons  in  London,  to  cross  the 
American  continent,  he  says  that  they  would  have  "  proceeded  up 
the  River  St.  Pierre,  [St.  Peter's,]  and  from  thence  up  a  branch 
of  the  River  Messorie,  till,  having  discovered  the  source  of  the 
Oregon,  or  River  of  the  West,  on  the  other  side  of  the  summit  of  the 
lands  that  divide  the  waters  which  fall  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
from  those  that  fall  into  the  Pacific  Ocean,  they  would  have  sailed 

*  Travels  throughout  the  interior  Parts  of  North  America,  in  1766 — 8,  by  Jona- 
than Carver,  London,  1778.  It  consists  of — an  introduction,  showing  what  the 
author  had  done  and  wished  to  do  —  a  journal  of  his  travels,  with  descriptions  of  the 
countries  visited,  and  —  an  account  of  the  origin,  habits,  religion,  and  languages, 
of  the  Indians  of  the  country  about  the  Upper  Mississippi,  which  account  occupies 
two  thirds  of  the  work,  and  is  extracted  almost  entirely,  and,  in  many  parts,  ver6a<m, 
from  the  French  journals  and  histories.  The  book  was  written,  or  rather  made  up, 
at  London,  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Lettsom  and  other  gentlemen,  and  printed  for 
the  purpose  of  relieving  the  wants  of  the  author,  who,  however,  died  there,  in  misery, 
in  1780,  at  the  age  of  48. 


1766.] 


OREGON,    OR   RIVER   OT   THE    WEST. 


Hi 


down  that  river,  to  the  place  where  it  is  said  to  empty  itself,  near 
the  Straits  of  Anian." 

From  these  declarations,  it  has  been  supposed,  by  many,  that 
Carver  was  the  first  to  make  known  to  the  world  the  existence  of 
the  great  stream  since  discovered,  and  named  the  Columbia,  which 
drains  nearly  the  whole  region,  on  the  Pacific  side  of  America, 
between  the  40th  and  the  54th  parallels  of  latitude ;  and  that  stream 
is,  in  consequence,  frequently  called  the  Oregon.  On  examining 
the  journal  of  the  traveller,  however,  we  find  no  further  mention 
of,  or  allusion  to,  his  river  than  is  contained  in  the  following  pas- 
sages :  **  From  these  nations,  [called  by  him  the  Naudowessies, 
the  Assinipoih,  and  the  KilUstinoes,]  together  with  my  own  obser- 
vations, I  have  learned  that  the  four  most  capital  rivers  on  the 
continent  of  North  America  —  viz.,  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  River  Bourbon,  and  the  Oregon,  or  River  of  the  West,  (as 
I  hinted  in  my  introduction)  —  have  their  sources  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  The  waters  of  the  three  former  are  within  thirty 
miles  of  each  other ;  the  latter,  however,  is  rather  farther  west. 
This  shows  that  these  parts  are  the  highest  in  North  America ;  and 
it  is  an  itistance  not  to  be  paralleled  in  the  other  three  quarters  of 
the  world,  that  four  rivers  of  such  magnitude  should  take  their  rise 
together,  and  each,  after  running  separate  courses,  discharge  their 
waters  into  difTcrent  oceans,  at  the  distance  of  two  thousand  miles 
from  their  sources ;  for,  in  their  passage  from  this  spot  to  the  Bay 
of  St.  Lawrence  east,  to  the  Bay  of  Mexico  south,  to  Hudson's 
Bay  north,  and  to  the  bay  at  the  Straits  of  Anian  west,  each  of 
these  traverse  upwards  of  two  thousand  miles."  The  elevated  part, 
to  which  Carver  here  alludes,  is  no  otherwise  described  by  him  than 
as  being  near  the  Shining  Mountains,  "  which  begin  at  Mexico,  and, 
continuing  northward,  on  the  back,  or  to  the  east,  of  CaUfornia, 
separate  the  waters  of  those  numerous  rivers  that  fall  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  or  the  Gulf  of  California.  From  thence,  continuing 
their  course  still  northward,  between  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi 
and  the  rivers  that  run  into  the  South  Sea,  they  appear  to  end  in 
about  47  or  48  degrees  of  north  latitude,  where  a  number  of  rivers 
arise,  an<l  empty  themselves  either  into  the  South  Sea,  into  Hud- 
son's Bay,  or  into  the  waters  that  communicate  between  these 
two  8(ins." 

Tn  the  preceding  extracts  from  Carver's  book,  embracing  all  that 
he  has  said  respecting  his  Oregon,  or  Great  River  of  the  West,  there 
is  c(.>rtainly  nothing  calculated  to  establish  the  identity  of  the  stream, 


■'I: 


144 


MlflREPREBENTATIONB    Or    CARTEB. 


[1766. 


to  which  those  vague  description  and  allusions  apply,  with  the 
Columbia,  or  with  any  other  river.  The  Columbia  does  not  rise 
within  a  few  leagues,  or  a  few  hundred  leagues,  of  the  waters  of 
the  Red  River,  the  St.  Lawrence,  or  the  Upper  Mississippi,  which 
latter  Carver  carefully  distinguishes  from  the  Missouri;  nor  docs 
either  of  those  rivers,  flowing  to  the  Atlantic,  rise  near  the  great 
dividing  ridge  of  the  Shining  Mountains ;  which  ridge,  moreover, 
docs  not  end  about  the  48th  degree  of  latitude,  but  continues  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  farther  north-westward.  If,  under  circum- 
stances so  diflfcrent,  we  consider  the  head-waters  of  the  Columbia 
to  be  the  same  described  by  Carver  as  the  head-waters  of  the 
Oregon,  we  should,  a  fortiori,  odmit  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  to 
be  the  same  mouth  of  a  river  which  Aguilar  is  said  to  have  discov- 
ered in  1603. 

Carver's  descriptions  of  places,  people,  and  things,  in  the  Indian 
countries,  are  vague,  and  often  contradictory ;  and,  where  they  can 
be  understood,  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  repetitions  of  the 
accounts  of  those  or  of  other  parts  of  America,  given  by  the  old 
French  travellers  and  historians,  whose  works  he,  nevertheless,  takes 
great  pains  to  disparage,  whenever  he  mentions  them.*  In  many  of 
those  works,  the  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  great  river,  flowing 
from  the  vicinity  of  the  head-waters  of  the  Mississippi,  westward, 
to  the  Pacific,  is  distinctly  aflirmed,  as  founded  on  the  reports  of  the 
Indians ;  and  on  nearly  all  maps  of  North  America,  published 
uring  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  may  be  found  one  or  more 
of  such  streams,  under  the  names  of  liivr.r  of  the  West,  River  of 


*  In  proof  that  no  injustice  is  hero  dono  to  Carver's  iiictnory,  read  his  magisierial 
.>nd  contemptuous  remarks)  on  tlio  works  of  Hnnncpin,  Lahontan,  and  Charlevoix,  in 
<he  first  chapter  of  his  account  of  the  origin,  manners,  &c.,  of  the  Indians;  and 
then  compare  his  chapters  describmg,  as  from  personal  observation,  the  ceremonies 
of  marriage,  burial,  hunting,  and  others,  of  the  natives  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  coun- 
tries, with  those  of  Lahontan,  bhowing  tlio  conduct  of  the  Iroquois,  of  Canada,  on 
sitnilar  occasions,  by  which  it  will  be  seen  that  Carrrr  lias  simply  translated  from 
Lahontan  the  irhole  of  the.  acrounis,  crrn  to  thv.  spcfchfs  of  the  rhirfs.  Carver's  chapter 
on  the  origin  of  the  Indians  is  merely  an  abridgment  iVcun  Charlevoix's  "D/.vav;7«- 
tion  "  on  the  same  subject.  His  descriptions  of  the  language,  manners,  and  customs, 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  ri'gions,nre  entirely  at  variance  with  those 
of  the  same  tribes  at  the  present  dav,  lis  cli'arly  shown  by  the  observations  of  Pike, 
Long,  and  other  persons  of  unquestionable  character,  who  havi,"  since  visited  that  part 
of  America.  Keating,  in  his  interesting  narrative  of  Long's  expedition  in  Ati'i'A, 
expresses  his  belief  that  Carver  "  ascended  the  Mississipj)!  to  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony, 
that  he  saw  the  St.  Peter,  and  that  he  may  have  entered  it;  but,  had  he  resided  live 
months  in  the  country,  and  become  acquainted  with  the  language  of  the  people,  he 
would  not  have  applied  to  them  the  name  of  JVaudotecssies,  and  o.  litted  to  call  tliem 
the  Dacota  Indians,  as  they  style  themselves.'' 


m 


1770] 


MONCACHTAUK  d    ACCOUNT    OK    A    GREAT    ItlVKIt. 


148 


Aguilar,  River  Thcffayo,  or  some  other,  represented  on  the  author- 
ity of  accounts  received  from  IndianH,  or  of  erroneous  or  fabulous 
narratives  of  voyages  aloni,'  the  North  Pacific  coasts.  When  wo 
consider  tiie  many  and  glaring  plagiarisms,  from  the  works  above 
mentioned,  committed  by  Carver,  we  certainly  have  a  right  to  sus- 
})('ct,  if  not  to  conclude,  that  he  derived  from  the  same  source 
every  thing  relating  to  his  River  of  the  West,  which  he  pretends  to 
have  collected  from  the  Indians  of  the  Upper  Mississip])i.  As  to 
the  name  Oregon,  or  the  authority  for  its  use,  the  traveller  is  silent; 
and  nothing  has  been  learned  from  any  other  source,  though  much 
labor  has  been  expended  in  attempts  to  discover  its  meaning  and 
derivation:  it  was,  most  probably,  invented  by  Carver. 

The  most  distinct  and  apparently  authentic  of  these  Indian 
accounts  of  great  rivers  llowing  from  the  central  parts  of  North 
Aniirica  to  the  Pacific,  is  that  recorded  by  the  French  traveller 
Lepage  Dupratz,  as  received  from  a  native  of  the  Yazoo  country, 
named  Monatchtnbc.  The  amount  of  this  statement  is  —  that  the 
Indian  ascended  the  Missouri  north-westward,  to  its  source,  beyond 
which  ho  found  another  great  river,  running  towards  the  setting 
sun ;  this  latter  he  descended  to  a  considerable  distance,  though 
not  to  its  termination,  which  he  was  prevented  from  reaching  by 
wars  among  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  country  on  its  banks ;  though 
he  learned,  from  a  woman  who  had  been  made  prisoner  by  the  tribe 
with  which  he  took  part,  that  the  river  entered  a  great  water,  where 
ships  had  been  seen,  navigated  by  white  men  with  beards.  All  this 
is  related,  with  many  accompanying  circumstances,  tending  to 
confirm  the  probability  of  the  narrative ;  and  there  is,  indeed, 
nothing  about  it  which  should  induce  us  to  reject  it  as  false,  except 
the  part  respecting  the  ships  and  white  men,  which  may  have  been 
an  embellishment  added  by  Moncachtabe.*  The  course  of  this 
supposed  stream  is  laid  down  on  several  maps  of  North  America, 
published  about  1750,  in  whicli  it  is  called  the  Great  River  of  the 
fVist ;  and  one  of  these  maps  probably  formed  the  basis  of  Carver's 
story. 

The  first  actual  discovery  of  a  river  in  the  northernmost  section 
of  America,  not  emptying  into  the  Atlantic  or  Hudson's  Bay,  was 
made,  in  1771,  by  Mr.  Samuel  Hearne,  one  of  the  agents  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  also  obtained  the  earliest  exact  infor- 
mation respecting  the  regions  west  and  north-west  of  that  bay. 

*  The  account  may  be  found  at  lengUi  in  the  Mimoires  sur  la  Louisiune,  by  the 
Abbt','  li>  Mascrier,  publislied  at  Paris  in  1753,  vol.  ii.  p.  246. 

19 


:l 


a 


I. 


il 


^!^''l 


HO 


IIKARNK  S    TRAVI'.LS. 


i 


1 1  ,i 


[1771. 


llcarne  had  been  commisBioned,  by  tlie  directors  of  tie;  r  '  ipany,  to 
explore  those  regions,  in  order  to  determine,  if  po8Hib/<  'i;";  question 
as  to  the  existence  of  a  northern  passage  between  Iludso  ,  h  T'ay  and 
the  Pacific ;  and  also,  more  especially,  to  fi'id  "^  rich  mine  of  copprr, 
which  was  believed,  from  the  accounts  of  the  Indians,  to  lie  on  the 
banks  of  a  river  or  strait,  called,  in  their  language,  "  the  Far-off 
Metal  River."  From  the  general  tenor  of  the  instructions  given 
to  Hearne,  it  is  evident  that  the  directors  were  convinced  of  the 
non-existence  of  such  a  passage,  and  that  they  were  merely  anxious 
to  have  thd  fact  demonstrated,  in  order  to  clear  themselves  from  tlio 
imputation  often  cast  upon  them,  of  endeavoring  to  obstruct  the 
progress  of  discovery  in  the  regions  under  their  control. 

Agreeably  to  these  instructions,  Hearne  made,  between  17G9  and 
1772,  three  journeys  from  Fort  Prince  of  Wales,  the  company's 
chief  establishment  on  the  western  shore  of  Hudson's  Bay,  near 
the  60th  degree  of  latitude,  through  the  regions  west  and  north- 
west of  that  place,  which  he  examined,  in  various  directions,  to  the 
distance  of-  about  a  thousand  miles.  In  his  last  journey,  he  dis- 
covered the  Great  Slave  Lake,  and  other  similar  collections  of  fresh 
water,  from  which  issued  streams  llowing  northward  and  westward ; 
and  he  traced  one  of  these  streams,  which  proved  to  be  the  Far-off' 
Metal  River,  since  called  the  Copper  Mine  River,  to  its  termination 
in  a  sea,  where  the  tides  were  observed,  and  the  relics  of  whales 
were  strowed  in  abundance  on  the  shores.  The  mouth  of  this  river 
was  calculated  rudely  by  Hearne  to  be  situated  near  the  72d  degree 
of  latitude,  and  about  20  degrees  of  longitude,  west  of  the  most 
western  known  part  of  Hudson's  Bay ;  and  he  learned  from  the 
Indians  that  the  continent  extended  much  farther  west,  and  that 
there  were  high  mountains  in  that  direction.  The  sea  into  which 
the  Copper  Mine  River  emptied  was  supposed  by  the  traveller  to  be 
"a  sort  of  inland  sea,  or  extensive  bay,  somewhat  like  that  of 
Hudson;"  and  he  assured  himself,  by  his  own  observations,  that 
the  territory  traversed  by  him,  between  this  sea  and  Hudson's  Bay, 
was  not  crossed  by  any  channel  connecting  the  two  waters :  whence 
it  followed,  that  no  vessel  could  sail  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
north  of  America,  without  proceeding  beyond  the  mouth  of  the 
Copper  Mine  River.  Hearne  also  conceived  that  he  had  proved 
the  entire  impossibility  of  the  existence  of  any  direct  communication 
between  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  Pacific ;  in  which  he,  undoubtedly, 
assumed  too  much,  as  the  northern  termination  of  that  bay  had  not 
then,  nor  has  it  to  this  day,  been  discovered. 


1776.] 


INSTRUCTIONS   TO   COOK. 


147 


cific 

the 

»ved 

tion 

idly, 

not 


Ilcarno'i  journals  woro  not  published  until  1795,  though  thoy 
wcro  Hubniittod,  immediately  after  his  return  from  his  last  journey, 
to  the  lords  commissioners  of  the  British  Admiralty,  who  did  not 
fail  to  perceive  the  importance  of  the  information  contained  in 
them.  The  comniissioncrs  agreed  with  Hcarno  in  considering  the 
probability  of  reaching  the  Pacific  through  Hudson's  Hiiy  to  be 
destroycul ;  but  they  were,  on  the  other  hand,  induced  to  hope  that 
the  newly-dincovered  sea,  north  of  America,  might  bo  found  to 
conununicate,  by  navigable  passages,  with  Baffin's  Bay  on  the  cast 
and  the  Pacific  on  the  west :  and  it  wtis,  in  consequence,  resolved, 
that  ships  slioidd  bo  sent,  simultaneously,  to  explore  the  western 
side  (»f  Batiin's  Bay  and  the  north-easternmost  coasts  of  the  Pacific, 
in  Hcarch  of  the  desired  channels  of  connection  with  the  Arctic 
Hett.  Jly  an  u<;t  of  parliament,  passed  in  174.5,  a  reward  of  twenty 
thousand  pounds  had  been  oflercd  for  the  discovery  of  a  north-west 
passage,  throui(U  lliuhon^s  Bay,  by  ships  belongins^  to  his  majesty's 
subjects',  and,  in  order  further  to  stimulate  British  navigators  in 
their  exerlions,  n  new  act,  in  1776,  held  out  the  same  reward  to  th(! 
owners  of  any  ship  belonging  to  his  majesty's  subjects,  or  to  the 
commander,  oincers,  and  crew,  of  any  vessel  belonging  to  his 
tnajesty,  which  should  find  out,  and  sail  through,  any  passage  by  sea 
bctwcMJii  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  Oceans,  in  any  direction,  or 
parallel  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  to  the  northward  of  the  52d 
flegrcn  of  latitude. 

Hoon  aft(!r  the  adoption  of  these  resolutions.  Captain  James  Cook 
returned  to  lOngland  from  his  second  voyage  of  circumnavigation, 
in  which  ho  had  completely  disproved  all  reports  of  the  existence 
of  a  habitable  continent  about  the  south  p9le ;  and,  his  offer  to  con- 
duct the  proposed  expedition  to  the  North  Pacific  having  been 
accepted  by  the  government,  two  vessels  were  soon  prepared  and 
placed  under  his  command  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  instructions  delivered  to  Cook,  on  the  6th  of  July,  1776, 
he  is  dirorted  to  proceed,  by  way  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  New 
Zealand  and  Otahcite,  to  the  coast  of  JVcw  Albion,  which  he  was 
to  endt.iivor  to  reach,  in  the  latitude  of  45  degrees.  He  was 
"  strictly  enjoined,  on  his  way  thither,  not  to  touch  upon  any  part 
of  the  Spanish  dominions  on  the  western  continent  of  America, 
unless  driven  to  it  by  some  unavoidable  accident ;  in  which  case, 
he  was  to  stay  no  longer  than  should  be  absolutely  necessary,  and 
to  bo  very  careful  not  to  give  any  umbrage  or  ofTence  to  any  of  the 
inhabitants  or  subjects  of  his  Catholic  majesty.     And  if,  in  his 


lir: 


;  :     ■   ' 

Hh    1  L 

148 


INSTRUCTIONS    TO    COOK. 


[1776. 


farther  progress  northward,  he  should  find  any  subjects  of  any 
European  prince  or  state,  upon  any  part  of  the  coast  which  he 
might  think  proper  to  visit,  he  was  not  to  disturb  them,  or  give 
them  any  just  cause  of  offence,  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  treat  them 
with  civihty  and  friendship."  This  latter  sentence  bore  reference 
to  the  Russians ;  the  application  of  the  name  of  Neiv  Albion  to  the 
nortij-west  coast  of  North  America  showed  that  the  British  govern- 
ment had  no  intention  to  resign  any  rights  to  that  region,  which 
were  supposed,  or  pretended,  to  have  been  acquired  by  Drake's 
visit,  in  1579. 

On  reacliing  New  Albion,  Cook  was  *'  to  put  into  the  first  con- 
venient port  to  obtain  wood,  water,  and  refreshments,  and  thence 
to  proceed  northward  along  the  coast  to  the  latitude  of  65  degrees," 
where  he  was  to  begin  his  search  for  "  such  rivers  or  inlets  as  might 
appear  to  be  of  considerable  extent,  and  pointing  towards  Hudson's 
or  Badin's  Bays."  Should  he  find  a  passage  of  that  description, 
lie  was  to  endeavor  to  sail  through  it,  with  one  or  both  of  his  ships, 
or  with  smaller  vessels,  of  which  the  materials  were  to  be  carried 
out,  prepared  for  being  speedily  put  together ;  should  he,  however, 
be  satisfied  that  there  is  no  sucli  passage  to  the  above-mentioned 
bays,  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  navigation,  he  was  to  repair  to 
tlie  Russian  establishments  in  Kamtchatka,  and  to  explore  the  seas 
nortli  of  them,  "  in  further  search  of  a  north-east  or  north-west 
passage,  from  the  Pacific  Ocean  into  tiie  Atlantic  or  the  North 
Sea."  The  instruction,  not  to  begin  the  examination  of  tiie  Amer- 
ican coast  south  of  the  65th  degree  of  latitude,  was  based  t-n  the 
proofs  obtained  by  Hearne,  that  the  continent  extended  much 
beyond  that  parallel ;  before  reaching  which,  indeed,  it  was  expected 
tiiat  the  coast  would  be  found  turning  north-eastward,  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  mouth  of  the  Copper  Mine  River. 

Tiie  navigator  was,  likewise,  "  with  the  consent  of  the  natives, 
to  take  possession,  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  of 
convenient  situations  in  such  countries  as  he  might  discover,  that 
had  not  been  already  discovered  or  visited  by  any  other  European 
power  ;  and  to  distribute,  among  the  inhabitants,  sucii  things  as  will 
remain  as  traces  of  his  having  been  tiiere :  but,  if  he  should  find 
the  countries  so  discovered  to  be  uninhabited,  he  was  to  take  pos- 
session of  them  for  his  sovereign,  by  setting  up  proper  marks  and 
inscriptions,  as  first  discoverers  and  possessors." 

The  preceding  extracts,  from  the  instructions  given  to  Cook,  will 
sufiice  to  explain  the  objects  and  views  of  the  British  government. 


1776.] 


conic    HAILM    VOK    THE    PACIFIC. 


149 


will 
lent. 


with  rc2;ar(l  to  tlio  part  of  Atni3rica  bordering  upon  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean  ;  which  objects  nnd  views  were,  in  every  respect,  conform- 
able with  justice,  with  the  existing  treaties  between  Great  Britain 
and  other  powers,  and  with  the  principles  of  national  law  then 
generally  admitted  in  civili/,o<l  cotintries.     Tiie  part  of  America  in 
question   was   known   to   Europeans   only  through  the   imperfect 
accotmts  of  the  Russian  voyages,  from  which  nothing  certain  was 
learned,  except  that  islands  and  other  taritories,  supposed  to  be 
extensive,  had  been  found  in  the  sea  east  of  Kamtchatka.     Of  the 
discoveries  of  the  Spaniards,  tho  most  recent  respecting  which  any 
exact  and  authentic  derails  liiul  been  communicated,  were  those 
made  by  Vizcaino,  in  HIO:) :  Uo,,  however,  had  not  advanced  so  far 
north  as  the  45th  flcgree  of  latitu<lc,  where  Cook  was  to  begin  his 
observations ;  and  between  that  parallel  and  the  56th,  the  southern- 
most limit  of  the  explorations  of  the  Russians,  was  a  vast  space  of 
sea  and  land,  concerning  which  all  the  accounts,  previously  given 
to  the  world,  were  generally  regarded  as  fabulous.     Before  Cook's 
departure,  information  lia<l    indeed    reached  England,  of  voyages, 
made  by  Spaniards,  along  tho  north-west  coasts  of  America,  during 
the  two  preceding  years,*  aiul  of  colonies  established  by  them  in 
that   quarter,   which    may,    perhaps,   have    rendered    tho    British 
government  more  solicitous  to  have  those  coasts  examined  by  its 
own  officers:  this  infornuilion  was,  however,  too  vague   to  have 
afforded  any  light  for  th(!  direction  of  Cook's  movements ;  and  it 
lias  been  already  shown  that  no  nmre  satisfactory  accounts  of  tlioso 
recent  Spanish  voyages  had  been  obtained  in  England  before  1780. 
With  these  instructions,  Cook  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  12th 
of  July,   1776,  in  his  old  ship,  tho  Resplution,  accompanied  by 
another  called  the  Discovery,  under  Captain  Charles  CIcrkc.     Both 
vessels  were  provided    with   <;very  instrument   and   other   means 
which  science  or  experieneci  could    sugg(?st,  for  the  effectual  ac- 
complishment of  the  great  objects  in  view;  and  that  the  officers 
and  crews  were  also  judiciously  selected,  the  results  conclusively 
proved.     Among  the  lieutenanlH  were  Gore,  (a  native  of  Virginia,) 
King,  Bligh,  and  Burnc.'y,  who  afterwards  rose  to  eminence  in  their 
profession :  of  the  inferior  members  of  the  body,  one  deserves  to 
be  named  —  John  Ledyard,  of  Connecticut,  who  thus  passed  four 
years  of  his  irregular  and  a<lv(;nturous  life  in  the  humble  capacity 
of  a  corporal  of  marines,  on  board  the  Resolution. 

'  Hi'c  |m;i;i'  lyi  o('  Uiis  History. 


1 


» 


! 


!  •' 


150 


COOK    REACHES    THE    AMERICAN    COAST. 


[1778. 


From  England,  Cook  passed  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
and  through  the  Southern  Ocean,  into  tlie  Pacific;  and,  after 
spending  more  than  a  year  in  examinations  about  Van  Dieman's 
Land,  New  Zealand,  the  Friendly  Islands,  the  Society  Islands,  and 
other  places  in  the  same  division  of  the  great  sea,  he  bent  his  course 
towards  the  north,  in  the  beginning  of  1778.  The  first  fruit  of 
his  researches  in  the  North  Pacific,  was  the  discovery,  on  the  18th 
of  January,  of  Atooi,  (or  Kauai,)  one  of  the  islands  of  a  group 
near  the  20th  degree  of  latitude,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of 
Sandwich  Islands,  in  honor  of  the  first  lord  of  the  Admiralty.  This 
discovery  was  by  no  means  the  least  important  of  the  many  efiectcd 
by  the  great  navigator;  as  those  islands,  situated  nearly  midway 
between  America  and  Asia,  possessing  a  delightful  climate,  and  a 
fertile  soil,  oflfer  invaluable  facilities  for  the  repair  and  refreshment 
of  vessels  traversing  the  vast  expanse  of  sea  which  there  separates 
the  two  continents,  and  will,  no  doubt,  be  made  the  basis  for  the 
exertion  of  a  powerful  influence  on  the  destinies  of  North-west 
America. 

From  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  British  exploring  ships  took  their 
departure  for  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  in  sight  of  which 
they  arrived  on  the  7th  of  March,  1778,  near  the  44th  degree  of 
latitude,  about  two  hundred  miles  north  of  Cape  Mendocino.  For 
several  days  afterwards,  Cook  was  prevented  from  advancing  north- 
ward by  contrary  winds,  which  forced  him  a  hundred  miles  in 
the  opposite  course ;  but  he  was  thereby  enabled  to  see  and  par- 
tially examine  a  larger  extent  of  coast,  and  to  determine  the  longi- 
tude of  that  part  of  America,  which  had  been  left  uncertain  by  al! 
previous  observations.  The  weather  at  length  permitting,  he  took 
tl.e  desired  direction,  and,  running  rapidly  northward,  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  land,  he  was,  on  the  22d  of  the  month,  opposite  a 
projecting  point  of  the  continent,  a  little  beyond  the  48th  parallel, 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Flattery,  in  token  of  the 
improvement  in  his  prospects. 

The  coast  south  of  Cape  Flattery,  to  the  47th  degree,  was  care- 
fully examined  by  the  English  in  search  of  the  strait  through  which 
Juan  de  Fuca  was  said  to  have  sailed  to  the  Atlantic  in  1592 ;  and 
as,  in  the  account  of  that  voyage,  the  entrance  of  the  strait  into  the 
Pacific  is  placed  bettocen  the  41th  and  the  48th  parallels,  over  which 
space  the  American  coast  was  found  to  extend  unbroken.  Cook 
did  not  hesitati^  to  pronounce  that  no  such  passage  existed.  "  Had 
he,  however,  also  traced  the  coast  north  and  oast  of  Ca|)e  Flattery, 


1778.] 


COOK  AT  ANCHOR  IN  NOOTKA  SOUND. 


151 


is- 


icli 
)ok 


fry, 


he  would  have  discovered  an  arm  of  the  ocean,  seeming  to  pene- 
trate the  continent,  through  which  he  might  have  sailed  many  days, 
ere  he  could  have  been  convinced  that  the  old  Greek  pilot's  account 
was  not  true  in  all  its  most  essential  particulars.  This  arm  of  the 
ocean  was  passed  unobserved  by  the  navigators,  who,  sailing  north- 
westward, in  front  of  its  entrance,  doubled  a  projection  of  the  land, 
named,  by  them,  Point  Breakers,  from  the  violence  of  the  surf 
beating  on  it,  and  found  immediately  beyond  a  spacious  bay,  open- 
ing to  the  Pacific,  in  the  latitude  of  49*  degrees.  Into  this  bay 
they  sailed,  and  anchored  on  its  northern  side,  at  the  distance  of 
ten  miles  from  the  sea,  in  a  safe  and  commodious  harbor,  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  Friendly  Cove. 

The  British  vessels  remained  at  Friendly  Cove  nearly  all  the 
month  of  April,  in  the  course  of  which  they  were  completely 
refitted,  and  supplied  with  wood  and  water,  and  the  men  were 
refreshed,  in  preparation  for  the  arduous  labors  of  the  ensuing 
summer.  During  this  period,  they  were  surrounded  by  crowds  of 
natives,  who  came  thither  from  all  quarters,  by  sea  and  by  land,  to 
visit  and  trade  with  the  strangers,  "  bringing,"  says  Cook,  "  skins  of 
various  animals,  such  as  wolves,  foxes,  bears,  deer,  raccoons,  pole- 
cats, martins,  and,  in  particular,  of  the  sea  otters,  which  are  found 
at  the  islands  east  of  Kamtchatka.  Besides  the  skins  in  their  native 
shape,  they  also  brought  garments  made  of  the  bark  of  a  tree,  or 
some  plant  like  hemp ;  weapons,  such  as  bows  and  arrows,  and 
spears ;  fish-hooks,  and  instruments  of  various  kinds ;  wooden 
visors  of  many  monstrous  figures ;  a  sort  of  woollen  stuff  or  blan- 
keting ;  bags  filled  with  red  ochre ;  pieces  of  carved  work,  bcuus, 
and  several  other  little  ornaments  of  thin  'mss  and  iron,  shaped 
like  a  horse-shoe,  which  they  ha;.g  at  tlca-  uot'os,  and  several 
chisels,  or  pieces  of  iron  fixed  to  handles." 

"  In  trafficking  with  us,"  continues  the  iidvigator,  '■=  some  of  them 
would  betray  a  knavish  disposition,  •■'  1  carry  off  our  goods  with- 
out making  any  return ;  but,  in  general,  it  was  otherwise,  and  we 
had  abundant  reason  to  commend  the  fairness  of  their  conduct. 
However,  their  eagerness  to  possess  iron  and  brass,  and,  indeed, 
any  kind  of  metal,  was  so  great,  tliut  few  of  them  could  resist 
the  temptation  to  steal  it,  whenever  an  opportunity  offered.  They 
were  thieves  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  word ;  for  they  pilfered 
nothing  from  us  but  what  they  knew  could  be  converted  to  the 
purposes  of  private  utility,  and  had  a  real  value,  according  to  their 
estimation  of  things."     Cook  also  observed  among  thorn  a  "  strict 


il  1 


^'■1  II 
,1   ), 


IH 


153 


COOK  S  ACCOUNT  OV    THE  NOOTKANS. 


[1778. 


notion  of  their  having  a  right  to  the  exclusive  property  of  every 
tiling  that  their  country  produces,"  which  had  been  roamrkcd,  by 
Bodega  and  Maurelle,  in  the  natives  at  Port  Reniedios,  farther 
nortli.  "  At  first,  they  wanted  our  people  to  pay  for  the  wood  and 
water  that  they  carried  on  board ;  and,  had  I  been  upon  the  spot 
when  these  demands  were  made,  I  should  certainly  have  complied 
with  them.  Our  workmen,  in  »Tiy  absence,  thought  difl'erently,  for 
they  took  but  little  notice  of  such  claims ;  and  the  natives,  when 
tliey  found  that  we  determined  to  pay  nothing,  ceased  to  apply. 
But  tliey  made  a  merit  of  necessity,  and  fre(iucnlly  aftervvaid  took 
occasion  to  remind  us  that  they  had  given  us  wood  and  water  out 
of  friendship." 

With  regard  to  the  disposition  of  these  people,  tiie  English  com- 
mander was,  on  the  whole,  inclined  to  judge  favorably.  ''  They 
seem,"  he  says,  "  to  be  courteous,  docile,  and  good  naluied,  but, 
notwithstanding  the  predominant  phlegm  of  their  tempers,  (juick  in 
resenting  what  they  look  upon  as  an  injury,  and,  like  most  other 
passionate  people,  as  soon  forgetting  it."  Experience  Ims,  how- 
ever, proved  that  Ledyard  read  their  cluimcters  more  correctly, 
when  he  pronounced  them  "  bold,  ferocious,  sly,  and  reserved ; 
not  easily  moved  to  anger,  but  revengeful  in  the  extreme." 

From  the  number  of  articles  of  iron  and  brass  found  among  these 
people,  one  of  whom  had,  moreover,  two  silver  spoons,  of  Spanish 
manufacture,  hanging  around  his  neck  by  way  of  ornuuient— ^from 
tlioir  manifesting  no  surprise  at  tlie  sight  of  iiis  ships,  and  not  being 
startled  by  tiio  reports  of  his  guns  —  and  from  the  strong  inclination 
to  trade  exiiibited  by  them,  —  Cook  was,  at  first,  inclined  to  suppose 
tiiat  tiie  place  had  been  vis'.*ed  by  vessels  of  civilized  nations  before 
his  arrival.  He,  however,  became  convinced,  by  his  incpiiries  and 
observations  during  his  stay,  that  this  was  by  no  means  probable ; 
for  though,  as  he  says,  "some  account  of  a  S|)anish  voyage  to  this 
coast  in  1774  or  1775  had  reached  England  before  I  sailed,  it  was 
evident  that  iron  was  too  common  here,  was  in  too  many  hands, 
and  the  use  of  it  was  too  well  known,  for  them  to  have  had  the  lirst 
knowledge  of  it  so  very  Lately,  or,  indeed,  at  any  earlier  period,  l)y 
an  accidental  supply  from  a  ship.  Doubtless,  from  the  general  use 
tliey  make  of  this  metal,  it  may  be  supposed  to  come  I'rom  some 
constant  source,  by  way  of  tratHc,  and  that  not  of  a  V(Ty  late  date ; 
for  they  are  as  dexterous  in  using  their  tools  as  the  longest  practice 
can  make  them.  The  most  probable  way,  therefore,  by  which  wo 
can  suppose  that  they  get  their  iron,  is  by  trading  for  it  with  other 


as 


1778.] 


COOK    SAILS    FROM    NOOTKA. 


153 


Inst 

l.y 

lusc 

line 

|t(" ; 

lice 

I  we 

her 


Indian  tribes,  who  either  have  immediate  communication  with 
European  settlements  upon  the  continent,  or  receive  it,  perhaps, 
through  several  intermediate  nations :  the  same  might  be  said  of 
the  brass  and  copper  found  amongst  them."  The  iron  and  brass, 
he  conceived,  might  have  been  brought  from  Canada,  or  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  the  silver  spoons  from  Mexico ;  and  he  imputed  the  indif- 
ference of  the  natives,  respecting  the  ships,  "  to  their  natural  indo- 
lence of  temper  and  want  of  curiosity." 

On  his  arrival  in  this  bay,  Cook  "  honored  it  with  the  name  of 
King  Georgc^s  Sound ;  "  but  he  *'  afterwards  found  that  it  was  called 
Nooika,  by  the  natives,"  and  it  has,  accordingly,  ever  since  been 
known  as  Nootka  Sound.  No  word  has,  however,  been  since  found 
in  the  language  of  the  people  of  this  country  more  nearly  resembling 
Noothx  than  Yuquatl,  the  name  applied  by  them  to  Friendly  Cove. 
The  bay  is  situated  on  the  south-west  side  of  the  large  Island  of 
Vancoiiver  and  Q^uadra,  which  was,  until  1790,  supposed  to  be  a 
part  of  the  American  continent ;  and  it  communicates  witli  the 
Pacific  by  two  openings,  tiie  southernmost  of  which,  the  only  one 
afibrding  a  passage  for  large  vessels,  lies  under  tlie  parallel  of  49 
degrees  33  minutes.  This  southern  entrance  is,  undoubtedly,  the 
Port  San  Lorenzo,  in  which  the  Spanish  navigator  Perez  lay 
with  his  si  ip,  the  Santiago,  on  the  10th  of  August,  1774  ;  and  from 
that  vessel,  most  probably,  were  stolen  the  two  silver  spoons  of 
Spanisli  manufacture,  which  Cook  saw  at  Nootka,  in  the  possession 
of  one  of  the  natives.  The  place  possesses  many  advantages,  which 
will  render  it  important,  wlienever  that  part  of  America  shall  be 
occupied,  as  it  cerfainly  will  be,  by  an  enterprising  and  industrious 
people.  , 

It  was  Cook's  intention,  on  leaving  Nootka  Sound,  to  proceed, 
as  ppoedily  as  possible,  to  the  part  of  the  coast  under  the  65th 
degree  of  latitude,  from  which  he  was  to  commence  his  search  for 
a  passage  to  the  Atlantic.  The  violence  of  the  wind  prevented 
him  from  approaching  the  land  for  some  days,  and  he  thus,  to  his 
regret,  left  unseen  the  place,  near  the  53d  parallel,  "  where  geog- 
raphers had  placed  the  pretended  Strait  of  Fonte.  For  my  own 
part,"  he  continues,  "  I  gave  no  credit  to  such  vague  and  improb- 
able stories,  that  carry  their  own  confutation  along  with  them ; 
nevertiielcss,  I  was  very  desirous  of  keeping  thvi  American  coast 
aboard,  in  order  to  clear  up  this  point  beyond  dispute."  At  length, 
on  the  1st  of  May,  he  saw  the  land,  about  the  55th  parallel;  and, 
on  the  following  day,  he  passed  near  the  beautiful  conical  mountain, 
20 


li 


I 


III 


154 


COOK    BEGINS    HIS    SURVEY    OF    THE    COAST. 


[1778. 


I 


under  the  57th,  which  had  received  from  Bodega,  in  1775,  the  name 
of  Mount  San  Jacinto.  This  peak  was  called  Mount  Edgecumb  by 
Cook,  who  also  gave  the  appellation  oi  Bay  of  Islands  to  the  Port 
Remedios  of  the  Spaniards,  on  its  northern  side. 

After  leaving  these  places,  the  English  observed  a  wide  opening 
on  the  east,  called  by  them  Cross  Sound,  and  beyond  it  a  very  high 
mountain,  which  obtained  the  name  of  Mount  Fairweather ;  and,  as 
the  latter  was  situated  near  the  59th  parallel,  they  had  then  advanced 
farther  north  than  the  Spaniards,  or  any  other  navigators,  had 
proceeded'  from  the  south  along  that  coast,  and  were  entering  upon 
the  scenes  of  the  labors  of  the  Russians.  Accordingly,  as  they  ex- 
pected, on  the  4th  of  the  month,  they  beheld,  rising  from  the  shore 
in  the  north,  at  the  distance  of  forty  leagues,  a  stupendous  pile  of 
rocks  and  snow,  which  they  immediately  recognized  as  the  Mount 
St.  Elias,  described  in  the  accounts  of  Bering's  voyage ;  and,  as 
the  coast  from  its  base  was  found  to  "  trenrt  very  much  to  the  west, 
inclining  hardly  any  thing  to  the  north,"  Cook  determined  to  com- 
mence his  survey  at  that  point,  hoping  soon  to  discover  some  strait, 
or  arm  of  the  ocean,  through  which  he  might  pass  around  the  north- 
western extremity  of  America,  into  the  sea  bathing  the  northern 
shores  of  the  continent.  Of  the  existence  of  such  a  passage  he 
was  assured  by  the  Russian  geographers,  on  whose  maps  the  whole 
space  between  Mount  St.  Elias  and  Kamtcliatka  was  represented 
as  occupied  by  a  collection  of  islands  and  channels. 

With  this  expectation,  tlie  English  advanced  slowly  along  the 
coast,  from  the  foot  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  westward,  to  a  considerable 
distance,  and  then  soutli-westward,  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  54^ 
degrees ;  minutely  examining,  in  tlieir  way,  every  sinuosity  on  the 
shores  of  the  ocean,  and  particularly  those  of  the  two  great  gulfs, 
named  by  them  Prince  IVilliain's  Sound  and  CooTi's  River,  which 
stretch  northwardly  into  the  land  from  the  60th  parallel.  They 
v,3re,  however,  in  each  instance,  disappointed ;  for  the  coast  was 
found  to  extend  continuously  on  their  right,  bordered  every  where 
by  lofty,  snow-capped  chains  of  mountains  along  the  whole  line  thus 
surveyed:  anrl,  as  Cook  became  convinced  that  these  territories 
formed  part  of  the  American  continent,  which  thus  "  extended 
farther  to  the  wo^t  than,  from  the  modern  most  reputable  charts,  he 
had  reason  to  expect,"  he  saw,  witii  regret,  that  the  probability  of 
his  finding  a  passa,n;e  eastward  into  Baffin's  or  Hudson's  Bays  was 
materially  diminished,  if  not  e*  'irely  destroyed.  He  endeavored,  in 
his  course,  to  identify  the  places  described  in  the  narrative  of 


1ii 


1778.] 


COOK   REACHES   UNALASHVA. 


155 


the 
rable 
54  J 
the 
;ulfs, 
hich 
'hey 
was 
[here 
thus 
>ries 
ided 
,  ho 
^  of 
was 
|d,  in 
of 


Bering's  voyage;  but  this  he  found,  almost  always,  impossible, 
though  he  assigned  many  of  the  names  therein  mentioned  to  spots 
which  seemed  to  correspond,  in  some  respects,  with  those  so  called 
by  the  Russians. 

Whilst  this  survey  was  in  progress,  particularly  at  Prince  Wil- 
liam's Sound,  the  ships  were  frequently  visited  by  the  natives  of  the 
surrounding  country,  who  appeared  to  be  of  a  different  race  from 
those  seen  farther  south.  They  were  as  thievish  as  the  Nootkans, 
though  apparently  less  ferocious  and  revengeful ;  and  Cook  gives 
several  examples  of  their  extraordinary  apathy  and  indifference, 
which  appears,  from  all  subsequent  accounts,  to  be  their  most 
remarkable  characteristic.  They,  also,  were  well  acquainted  with 
the  use  of  iron  and  copper,  of  which  metals,  particularly  of  copper, 
they  possessed  knives,  or  spear-heads,  rudely  made.  Among  them 
were  likewise  found  many  ornaments  made  of  glass  beads,  which 
were  evidently  of  European  manufacture :  yet  the  English  could 
not  learn  that  they  had  ever  had  direct  intercourse  with  any  civihzed 
nation ;  and  Cook  very  justly  concluded  that  the  Russians  "  had 
never  been  among  them,  for,  if  that  had  been  the  case,  we  should 
hardly  have  ftund  them  clothed  in  such  valuable  skins  as  those  of 
the  sea  otter." 

Proceeding  south-westward  from  Cook's  River,  along  the  western 
side  of  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska,  the  English,  on  the  19th  of  June, 
fell  in  with  a  group  of  small  islands,  near  the  55th  parallel,  which 
appeared  to  correspond,  in  position,  with  the  Schumagin  Islands  of 
Bering ;  and,  while  sailing  amongst  them,  they  obtained,  from  some 
natives,  a  note  written  on  paper,  in  an  unknown  language,  which 
they  supposed  to  be  Russian.  Having  reached  the  extremity  of  the 
land  in  that  direction,  they  doubled  the  point,  and,  sailing  again 
towards  the  east,  they  arrived,  on  the  27th,  at  a  large  island,  which 
proved  to  be  Unalashka,  one  of  the  Aleutian  Archipelago,  frequently 
mentioned  in  the  accounts  of  the  Russians  as  a  place  of  resort 
for  their  traders :  natives  of  the  island  only  were  found  there ;  but, 
as  its  position  with  reference  to  other  points  in  America,  and  to 
Kamtchatka,  was  supposed  to  be  represented  with  some  approach 
to  accuracy,  on  the  chart  published  at  St.  Petersburg,  the  Eng- 
lish, after  reaching  it,  were  better  able  to  determine  their  future 
course. 

Being  still  anxious  to  discover,  if  possible,  during  that  season, 
how  far  America  extended  to  the  north-west.  Cook  departed  from 
Unalashka  on  the  2d  of  July,  and,  sailing  northward  along  the  coast. 


m 


M 


I 


.  :;i '  f 


-:  i 


:4  m 


ti  i 


1 .1 


156 


COOK    MEETS    RUSSIAN    TRADERS. 


[1778. 


II 


he  carefully  examined  all  its  bays  and  recesses,  in  search  of  a  pas- 
sage towards  the  east,  until  he,  at  length,  on  the  9th  of  August, 
reached  a  point,  in  the  latitude  of  65  degrees  46  minutes,  which 
his  observations  induced  him  to  consider  as  the  "north-western 
extremity  of  all  America."  This  point  he  named  Cape  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  thence  proceeding  westward,  across  a  channel  only  fifty 
miles  in  breadth,  he  arrived  at  another  point,  supposed  to  be  that 
described,  in  the  account  of  Bering's  first  voyage,  as  the  Tchukotskoi 
Noss,  which  was  ascertained  to  be  the  easternmost  spot  in  Asia,  and 
was  accordingly  named  East  Cape.  The  passage  separating  these 
capes,  which  the  Russians  had  called  Bering's  Strait,  was  suffered 
to  retain  that  appellation,  in  honor  of  the  navigator  who  first  sailed 
through  it. 

Beyond  Bering's  Strait,  the  American  coast  was  traced  by  the 
English,  north-eastward  upon  the  Arctic  Sea,  to  Icy  Cape,  m  the 
latitude  of  70  degrees  29  minutes,  where  the  progress  of  the  ex- 
plorers was  arrested  by  the  ice.  In  like  manner,  the  Asiatic  coast 
was  surveyed  north-westward,  to  Cape  North,  in  the  latitude  of  68 
degrees  56  minutes,  the  farthermost  point  to  which  it  was  then  pos- 
sible to  advance  in  that  direction ;  and,  the  warm  season  being  by 
this  time  ended.  Cook  judged  it  prudent  to  retire  to  the  south, 
deferring  the  continuation  of  his  researches  until  the  ensuing 
summer.  He  accordingly  repassed  Bering's  Strait,  and  on  the 
3d  of  October  his  ships  were  again  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Sam- 
agoonda,  on  the  north  side  of  Unalashka. 

From  this  place,  Corporal  Ledyard  was  despatched  on  an  ex- 
ploring trip  into  the  interior  of  the  island,  where  he  at  length  dis- 
covered some  Russian  traders,  who  accompanied  him  back  to  the 
ships.  The  chief  of  these  traders,  named  Gerassim  Ismyloff,  was 
an  old  and  experienced  seaman,  who  had  formed  one  of  the  party 
under  Benyowsky,  in  their  adventurous  voyage  from  Kamtchatka 
to  China,  in  1770,  and  had  since  been  engaged  in  the  navigation 
and  traffic  between  Asia  and  the  Aleutian  Islands.  He  readily  ex- 
hibited to  Cook  the  few  charts  in  his  possession,  and  communicated 
what  he  knew  respecting  the  geography  of  that  part  of  the  world 
as  well  as  was  possible,  considering  that  neither  of  the  two  under- 
stood a  word  of  the  language  of  the  other.  The  information  thus 
received  from  Ismyloff,  however,  only  served  to  show  the  entire 
inaccuracy  of  the  ideas  of  the  Russians  with  regard  to  America, 
and  to  convince  the  English  navigator  of  the  importance  of  his  own 
discoveries. 


lUS 

tire 
ca, 
wn 


1779.J 


DEATH    or    COOK. 


167 


Leaving  Unalashka  on  the  27th  of  October,  the  English  ships 
continued  their  voyage  southward  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  of  which 
the  two  largest,  called  Owyhee  and  Mowee,  (^Hawaii  and  Mount,) 
were  first  discovered  in  the  latter  part  of  November.  They  passed 
the  winter  on  the  western  side  of  Owyhee,  in  a  harbor  called  Kara- 
kooa  Bay ;  and  there,  on  the  16th  of  February,  1779,  the  gallant 
and  generous  Cook  was  murdered  by  the  natives,  in  an  affray. 

Captain  Charles  Clerke,  who  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
expedition  after  this  melancholy  event,  endeavored,  in  the  summer 
of  1779,  to  effect  a  passage  through  the  Arctic  Sea  to  the  Atlantic. 
With  this  view,  he  left  the  Sandwich  Islands  in  March,  and,  on  the 
29tli  of  April,  reached  the  harbor  of  Petropawlowsk,  in  the  Bay  of 
Avatsclia,  the  principal  port  of  the  Russians  on  the  North  Pacific, 
where  the  English  were  received  with  the  utmost  kindness  by  the 
oificerH  of  the  government;  and,  their  ships  were  objects  of  the 
greatest  curiosity  to  the  people,  being  the  first  from  any  foreign 
country  which  had  ever  visited  that  part  of  the  world.  After  some 
days  spent  in  Kamtchatka,  Clerke  sailed  for  Bering's  Strait,  beyond 
which,  however,  he  was  unable  to  advance,  in  any  direction,  so  far 
as  in  the  preceding  year,  in  consequence  of  the  great  accumulation 
of  the  ice.  His  health  at  that  time  being,  moreover,  in  a  very  pre- 
carious state,  he  returned  to  Petropawlowsk,  near  which  he  died,  on 
the  'i'M  of  August. 

Lieutenant  John  Gore  next  assumed  the  direction  of  the  enter- 
prise :  but  the  ships  were  considered,  by  him  and  the  other  officers, 
unfit,  from  the  bad  condition  of  their  bottoms  and  rigging,  to  en- 
counter the  shocks  of  another  season  in  that  tempestuous  quarter 
of  the  ocean ;  and  it  was,  thereupon,  determined  that  they  should 
direct  their  course  immediately  for  England.  They  accordingly 
sailed  from  Petropawlowsk  in  October,  and  in  the  beginning  of 
December  tliey  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Tygris,  near 
Canton. 

With  the  stay  of  the  EngHsh  ships  in  China  are  connected  some 
circumstances,  which  gave  additional  importance  to  the  discoveries 
efl'ected  in  their  expedition. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned  that,  during  the  voyage  along  the 
north-west  coasts  of  America,  the  officers  and  seamen  had  obtained 
from  the  natives  at  Nootka,  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  other 
places  which  they  visited,  a  quantity  of  furs,  in  exchange  for  knives, 
old  clothes,  buttons,  and  other  trifies.     Th«»«p  furs  were  collected. 


I''  ill 


if'' 


1  ;■ 


\i 


1 

r 

-t 

'i 

h 

J. 

! 

i 

158 


THE    ENGLISH    lELL   THEIR    FURS    AT    CANTON. 


[1779 


r 


i  ■ 


1 1 


w 

hi 


for  the  most  part,  without  any  reference  to  their  value  as  mcrchan 
dise,  and  were  used  on  board  ship  as  clothes  or  bedding ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which,  many  of  them  had  become  spoiled,  and  others 
were  much  injured,  before  the  ships  reached  Pctropawlowsk.  At 
that  place,  a  few  skins  were  sold  to  the  Russian  tndors,  who  were 
anxious  to  purchase  the  whole  on  similar  terms ;  bnt  the  English 
officers,  having,  in  the  mean  time,  acquired  information  as  to  the 
high  prices  paid  for  furs  in  China,  prevailed  upon  the  seamen  to 
retain  those  which  they  still  possessed,  until  their  arrival  at  Cunton, 
where  they  were  assured  that  a  much  better  market  would  be 
found. 

The  hopes  thus  excited  did  not  prove  fallacious.  The  ships 
commanded  by  Gore  were  the  only  ones,  with  the  exception  of  that 
under  Benyowsky,  in  1770,  which  had  ever  arrived  at  Canton 
directly  from  the  coasts  where  furs  were  obtained ;  and  no  sooner 
was  the  nature  of  the  merchandise  which  they  brought  known  in 
the  city,  than  all  became  eager  to  purchase  those  precious  objects 
of  comfort  and  luxury,  cither  for  their  own  use  or  upon  speculation. 
The  Chinese,  according  to  custom,  began  by  offering  prices  much 
below  the  ordinary  ;  but  the  English,  being  on  their  guard,  refused 
such  terms,  and,  in  the  end,  their  whole  stock  of  furs  was  sold  for 
money  and  goods,  to  the  amount  of  more  than  ten  thousand  dollars. 
The  seamen,  on  witnessing  these  results,  became,  notwithstanding 
the  previous  length  of  their  cruise,  "  possessed  with  a  rage  ta  return 
to  the  -.orthcrn  coasts,  and,  by  another  cargo  of  skins,  to  make 
their  fortunes,  which  was,  at  one  time,  not  far  short  of  mutiny :  " 
they  were,  however,  restrained  by  their  officers,  and,  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  business  at  Canton,  the  ships  sailed  around  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  to  England,  where  they  arrived  in  the  beginning  of 
October,  1780. 

With  regard  to  the  novelty  of  the  discoveries  effected  in  this 
voyage,  it  will  be  seen,  on  comparing  the  course  of  the  English 
ships  with  those  taken  by  the  Spaniards,  in  1774  and  1775  —  that 
Cook  saw  no  part  of  the  west  coast  of  North  America,  south  of 
Mount  San  Jacinto  or  Edgccumb,  which  had  not  been  previously 
seen  by  Perez,  Bodega,  or  Ileceta ;  and,  after  passing  that  point,  he 
was,  as  he  frequently  admits,  aided,  and  in  a  measure  guided,  by  the 
accounts  of  the  Russian  voyages.  The  observations  of  the  English 
were,  however,  infinitely  more  minute,  and  more  important,  in  their 
results,  than  those  of  any  or  all  the  other  navigators  who  had  pre- 


1779.] 


RESULTS    or    COOK  a    DISCOVERIES. 


159 


ceded  them  in  the  exploration  of  the  Nortli  Pacific :  for,  by  deter- 
mining accurately  the  positions  of  the  principal  points  on  the  coasts 
of  Asia  and  America,  bounding  that  sea,  they  first  afforded  tho 
means  of  ascertaining  the  extent  of  those  continents,  and  the  degree 
of  their  proximity  to  each  other,  respecting  which  the  most  er- 
roneous ideas  had  prevailed  ;  and  the  comparative  ease  and  security 
with  which  they  executed  this  task,  served  to  dispel  apprehensions 
with  regard  to  exf)editiona  through  that  quarter  of  the  ocean. 


Il 


this 
»lish 
that 

of 
usly 

he 

the 

lish 

heir 

pre- 


NOTE.  — In  the  "Exploration  dii  Ttrritoiro  de  I'Orogon,  des  Californieg,"  &o.,  by 
M.  Duflotde  Mofras,  published  at  l'at\»,  in  \\w  BuminiT  of  1844,  by  order  of  the  king, 
and  under  tho  augpicuH  uf  Marshal  Soult,  the  autiior  asgi-rts  nnd  assuines  that  he  has 
proved  incontc8tably  that  the  Columbia  River  iiml  been  liiscovered  md  explored  com- 
pletely by  Fronnh  officers  and  tradt-rs  betwcci  1716  and  1754,  and  that  the  whole 
country  traversed  by  that  stream  rijjhtfully  liiru  *  of  Canada.    In  support  of  tho 

latter  aHsertion,  he  cites  a  passage  from  L'Escnr'  j  iistoiro  de  la  Nouvello  France," 

published  in  1617,  claiming,  as  New  Franco,  tii  lole  American  continent,  and  tho 
adjacent  islands  north  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer ;  and  a  passage  from  the  "  Voyage  de  la 
Nouvelle  Franco,"  published  in  1632  by  Champlain,  who  is  content  with  all  north  of 
the  3r>tli  degree  of  latitude :  and,  in  further  confirmation,  ho  refers  to  a  manuscript  Span- 
ish map,  drawn  in  Florence  in  1606,  to  a  Dutch  map,  drawn  at  Edam  in  1610,  and  to  an 
English  map,  engraved  at  London  in  1747,  all  of  which,  it  seems,  represent  Canada  as 
extending  to  the  Pacific.  In  proof  that  tho  French  had  explored  the  Columbia  regions, 
M.  do  Mofras  mentions  a  number  of  orders,  preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  marine  and 
colonies  at  Paris,  from  French  ministers,  and  from  governors  of  Canada,  for  the  exam- 
ination of  the  western  territories  —  one  of  which,  addressed,  in  1730,  by  the  governor, 
Beauharnois,  to  a  trader  named  Verendryo,  directs  him  "  to  send  with  his  memoir 
a  map  drmcn  from  his  oxen  observations  and  the  indications  of  the  Indians,  and,  among 
others,  of  a  Kree  chief,  embracing  the  course  of  the  River  of  the  West,  and  showing 
that  it  must  empty  above  California,  near  tho  entrance  discovered  by  Martin  de  Agui- 
lar."  '■^Nothing  can  be  more  clear,"  adds  M.  de  Mofras;  it  will,  however,  be  ob- 
served that  tho  Swedish  naturalist  Kalm,  who  visited  Canada  in  1749,  was  informed 
by  Verendrye  himself  that  "  the  chief  intention  of  this  expedition,  viz.,  to  come  to 
the  South  Sea,  and  to  examine  its  distance  from  Canada,  was  not  attained." 

"In  fine,"  says  M.  de  Mofras,  (vol.  ii.  p.  254,)  "tho  map  accompanying  the  Mo- 
raoires  doa  Cominissaircs  du  Roi  et  de  ccux  do  sa  Mojesto  Britannique  en  Amorique, 
engraved  in  1757,  demonstrates,  also,  that  New  Franco  extended  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
It  will  bo  scon,  hereafter,  that  'c  i,s  not  surprising  to  find  upon  this  map,  in  the  45th 
degree  of  latitude,  on  the  north-\.'est  coast  of  America,  a  great  river,  tho  direction  of 
which  is  exactly  that  of  tho  River  Columbia."  Now  M.  do  Mofras  could  not  have 
examined  the  map  hero  cited  by  him  when  he  made  this  assertion.  The  work  con- 
taining it  is  a  collection  of  documents  presented  by  the  commissaries  of  France 
and  England,  appointed,  under  tho  treaty  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  in  1743,  to  decide  cer- 
tain disputed  points  of  boundary  in  America.  The  map  of  America,  to  which  M, 
Mofras  refers,  was  drawn  and  presented  by  the  French  commissaries,  as  its  title  ex- 
pressly declares,  to  expose  tho  extravagant  pretensions  of  tho  British  to  territories  in 
America:  it  docs  not  contain  the  words  ^^  Canada,"  or  "JVouvclle  France,"  or  any 
other  sign  of  French  dominion  ;  tho  whole  division  of  the  continent,  between  the 
48th  and  tho  31st  parallels  of  latitude,  being  represented  by  strong  lines  and  express 
notes,  as  included  in  the  limits  of  tho  British  provinces  :  nor  does  it  show  any  large 
river  falling  into  the  Pacific  north  of  the  peninsula  of  California,  nor  any  river  en 
taring  that  ocean  north  of  the  3fith  degree  of  latitude. 


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23  WIST  MAIN  STREiT 

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CHAPTER    VII. 


1780  TO  1789. 


Conunercid  Reaalte  of  Cook's  Discoveriea — Settlements  of  the  Russians  in  Anierira 

—  Scheme  of  Ledyard  for  the  Trade  of  the  North  Pacific — Voyage  of  La  P^rouse 

—  Direct  Trade  between  the  American  Coasts  and  Canton  commenced  —  Voyages 
of  the  English  For  Traders — Re-disoovery  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca — Voyacre  of 
Meares,  who  endeavors  to  find  a  great  River  described  by  the  Spaniards-  First 
Voyages  from  the  United  States  to  the  South  Pacific,  and  to  Canton — Voyage  of 
the  Columbia  and  Washington,  under  Kendrick  and  Gray,  from  Boston  to  the 
North  Pacific. 


Whilst  Cook  was  engaged  in  his  last  expedition,  Great  Britain 
became  involved  in  wars  with  the  United  States  of  America,  France, 
and  Spain ;  and,  as  there  was  no  prospect  of  a  speedy  termination 
of  the  contests  at  the  time  when  the  ships  sent  out  under  that 
commander  returned  to  Europe,  the  British  government  considered 
it  prudent  to  withhold  from  the  world  all  information  respecting 
their  voyage.  The  regular  journals  of  the  ships,  together  with  the 
private  notes  and  memoranda  of  the  officer?  and  men  which  could 
be  collected,  were,  in  consequence,  placed  under  the  charge  of  the 
Board  of  Admiralty,  and  thus  remained  concealed  until  peace  had 
been  restored.  Notwithstanding  this  care,  however,  many  of  the 
occurrences  of  the  expedition  became  known,  the  importance,  or 
the  novelty,  of  which  was  such  as  to  raise  to  the  highest  degree  the 
curiosity  of  the  public,  not  only  in  England,  but  in  all  other  civilized 
countries. 

The  wars  having  been,  at  length,  concluded,  the  regular  journals 
of  the  expedition  were  published  at  London,  in  the  winter  of  1784-5, 
under  the  care  of  the  learned  Bishop  Douglas,  with  a  number  of 
maps,  charts,  and  other  illustrative  engravings;  and  it  is  now 
scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  the  anticipations  which  had  been 
formed  as  to  the  importance  of  their  contents,  were  fully  realized. 

The  information  obtained  during  the  voyage,  respecting  the 
abundance  of  animals  of  fine  fur  on  the  north-west  coasts  of 
America,  and  the  high  prices  paid  for  their  skins  in  China,  became 


1780.] 


STATE    or   THE   FtTR  TBADE. 


161 


generally  diifused  before  the  publication  of  the  journals,  and  it  did 
not  fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  enterprising  men  in  all  maritime 
countries.  The  trade  in  furs  had  been  conducted,  almost  wholly, 
by  the  British  and  the  Russians,  between  whom,  however,  there  had 
been  no  opportunity  for  competition.  The  Russians  procured  their 
furs  chiefly  in  the  northern  parts  of  their  own  empire ;  and  they 
exported  to  China,  by  land,  all  such  as  were  not  required  for  their 
own  use.  The  British  market  was  supplied  entirely  from  Hudson's 
Bay  and  Canada ;  and  a  great  portion  of  tLe  skins  there  collected 
was  sent  to  Russia,  whence  many  of  them  found  their  way  to  China, 
though  none  had  ever  been  shipped  directly  for  the  latter  country. 
That  the  furs  of  Canada  and  Hudson's  Bay  might  be  sold  advan- 
tageously at  Canton  was  certain,  from  a  comparison  between  the 
prices  of  those  articles  in  London  and  in  Canton ;  and  it  was  also 
clear  that  still  greater  profits  might  be  secured  by  means  of  a  direct 
trade  between  China  and  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  where 
the  finest  furs  were  to  be  obtained  more  easily  than  in  any  other 
part  of  the  world.  There  could  be,  nevertheless,  no  doubt  that,  after 
the  opening  of  such  a  trade,  the  prices  in  China  would  fall,  while 
the  difficulties  and  expenses  of  collecting  the  furs  in  America  would 
be  increased ;  and  it  was,  therefore,  material  that  those  who  wished 
to  reap  the  fullest  harvests  in  this  new  field,  should  begin  their 
labors  as  speedily  as  possible. 

The  Russians  were  the  first  to  avail  themselves  of  Cook's  dis- 
coveries, respecting  which  they  had  derived  much  information 
during  the  stay  of  the  British  ships  at  Petropawlowsk  and  Unalash- 
ka.  In  1781,  an  association  was  formed  between  Gregory  Scheli- 
kof,  Ivan  Gollikof,  and  other  principal  fur  merchants  of  Siberia  and 
Kamtchatka,  for  the  more  extensive  and  effective  conduct  of  their 
business ;  and  three  vessels,  equipped  by  them  for  a  long  voyage  of 
trade  and  exploration,  sailed  from  Ochotsk,  in  August,  1783,  under 
the  command  of  Schelikof.  In  this  expedition  they  were  absent 
three  years,  in  the  course  of  which  the  shores  of  the  American 
continent  and  islands,  between  the  south-west  extremity  of  Aliaska 
and  Prince  William's  Sound,  were  examined,  and  several  colonies 
or  factories  were  established,  particularly  on  the  large  island  of 
Kuktak,  or  Kddiak,  near  the  entrance  of  the  bay  called  Cook's 
River.  Schelikof  was  a  man  of  great  intrepidity  and  perseverance, 
well  acquainted  with  the  business  in  which  he.^vas  engaged,  and 
apparently  never  troubled  by  scruples  as  to  the  morality  or  humanity 
of  any  measure,  after  he  had  satisfied  himself  of  its  ezpsdiency. 
21 


■;  ! 


i 
I  i 


■  i 


-  \ 


162 


LEDTABD  S  SCHEME  FOR  THE  FDR  TRADE. 


[178a. 


He  and  his  followers  are  said  to  have  exhibited  the  most  barbarous 
dispositions  in  their  treatment  of  the  natives  on  the  coasts,  whole 
tribes  of  whom  were  put  to  death  upon  the  slightest  prospect  of 
advantage  from  their  destruction,  and  often  through  mere  wanton- 
ness of  cruelty. 

In  1787,  the  Russians  made  establishments,  also,  on  the  shores  of 
Cook's  River;  and,  in  the  following  year,  two  vessels  were  sent 
from  Asia  by  the  trading  association,  under  Ismylof  (one  of  the  men 
found  by  Cook  at  Unalashka)  and  Betscharef,  who  proceeded  as 
far  east  as  the  bay  at  the  foot  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  called  Ydkutat 
by  the  natives,  and  Admiralty  Bay  by  the  English.  It  seems  to 
have  also  been  the  object  of  these  traders  to  take  possession  of 
Nootka  Sound,  in  which,  however,  they  were  anticipated,  as  will 
be  shown  in  the  ensuing  chapter. 

The  empress  Catharine  had  likewise  become  anxious  to  acquire 
glory  by  an  expedition  for  discoveries  in  the  North  Pacific ;  but,  as 
none  of  her  subjects  were  qualified  to  conduct  such  an  enterprise, 
she  engaged  for  the  purpose  Captain  Billings,  an  Englishman,  wiio 
had  accompanied  Cook,  as  assistant  astronomer,  in  his  last  voyage. 
Under  his  direction,  two  ships  were  built  at  Petropawlowsk ;  but 
they  could  not  be  completed  before  1790,  when  Billings  began  his 
voyage,  as  will  be  hereafter  related. 

Among  other  nations,  the  first  attempt  to  engage  in  the  direct 
trade  between  the  north-west  coasts  of  America  and  China  appears 
to  have  been  made  by  Mr.  Bolts,  an  eminent  English  merchant, 
residing  at  Trieste,  who,  in  1781,  equipped  a  vessel  for  that  pur- 
pose, to  be  navigated  under  the  imperial  flag  of  Germany ;  but  he 
was  obliged,  from  some  unknown  cause,  to  abandon  the  under- 
taking. 

A  similar  attempt  was  shortly  after  made,  with  no  greater  suc- 
cess, in  the  United  States  of  America.  John  Ledyard,  who  has 
been  already  mentioned  as  one  of  the  crew  of  Cook's  ship  during 
the  last  voyage  of  that  navigator,  having  deserted,  or  rather  es- 
caped, from  a  British  frigate,  in  which  he  was  serving  against  his 
countrymen,  near  New  York,  in  1782,  prevailed  on  the  celebrated 
merchant  and  financier,  Robert  Morris,  of  Philadelphia,  to  fit  out  a 
vessel,  to  be  employed,  under  his  direction,  in  the  fur  trade  of  the 
North  Pacific.  The  pecuniary  embarrassments  of  Mr.  Morris, 
however,  obliged  him  to  abandon  the  enterprise  before  the  vessel 
was  ready  for  sea;  and  Ledyard,  finding  his  efforts  to  prdcure 
cooperation  for  that  object  unavailing  in  America,  went  to  France  in 


'ir 


1786.] 


VOYAGE    OF   LA   p£rOU8E. 


163 


1784,  where  he,  in  concert  with  Paul  Jones,  endeavored  to  interest 
the  government,  or  private  capitalists,  in  his  scheme. 

The  French  gave  no  encouragement  to  Ledyard's  plan  for  prose- 
cuting the  fur  trade ;  and  no  private  vessels  were  sent  from  that 
kingdom  to  the  North  Pacific  until  1791.*  The  government  of 
France,  however,  was  not  unaware  of  the  advantages  which  might 
be  derived  from  this  branch  of  commerce ;  and  their  great  naviga- 
tor. La  P^rouse,  on  leaving  his  country  for  the  Pacific,  in  1785, 
was  specially  instructed  to  "  explore  the  parts  of  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America  which  had  not  been  examined  by  Cook,  and  of 
which  the  Russian  accounts  gave  no  idea,  in  order  to  obtain  infor- 
mation respecting  the  fur  trade,  and  also  to  learn  whether,  in  those 
unknown  parts,  some  river  or  internal  sea  might  not  be  found 
communicating  with  Hudson's  Bay  or  Baflin's  Bay."t 

The  multiplicity  of  objects,  in  every  department  of  science,  to 
which  La  Perouse  was  required  by  his  instructions  to  attend,  during 
his  voyage,  prevented  him  from  devoting  more  than  three  months 
to  the  north-west  coasts  of  America ;  and,  of  that  time,  he  spent 
one  third  at  anchor,  in  a  bay  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Fairweather, 
near  which  he  first  saw  the  coast,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1786.  In 
this  bay,  called,  by  La  Perouse,  Tort  des  Franpais,X  observations 
Were  made  by  the  French  in  various  points  of  science ;  and  they 
traded  with  the  natives,  of  whose  persons,  language,  arts,  customs, 
&,c.,  minute  accounts  are  presented  in  the  journals  of  the  expedi- 

"  After  the  failure  of  this  scheme,  Ledyard  undertook,  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr. 
Jefferson,  then  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  in  France,  to  proceed 
by  land  to  Kamtchatka,  thence  by  sea  to  Nootka  Sound,  or  some  other  point  on  the 
west  coast  of  North  America,  and  thence  across  the  contjnent,  to  the  Atlantic 
states  of  the  Federal  Union.  With  this  view,  permission  was  obtained,  through  the 
agency  of  the  celebrated  Baron  de  Grimm,  from  the  empress  of  Russia,  for  Ledyard 
to  pass  through  her  dominions ;  and,  thus  protected,  as  well  as  aided,  by  the  govern- 
ment of  that  empire,  he  advanced  as  far  as  Irkutsk,  in  Siberia,  on  his  way  to 
Ochotsk,  where  he  proposed  to  embark  for  America.  At  Irkutsk,  however,  he  was 
arrested,  by  order  of  the  empress,  on  the  night  of  the  24th  of  February,  1788,  and 
was  thence  conveyed  to  the  frontiers  of  Poland,  where  he  was  liberated,  with  an 
injunction  not  again  to  set  foot  in  the  Russian  territory.  The  reasons  for  his  expul- 
sion are  unknown;  but  it  was  probably  occasioned  by  the  representations  of  the 
members  of  the  Russian  American  Trading  Company,  already  mentioned,  who 
wished  to  keep  their  proceedings  secret.  On  the  15th  of  November  following,  Led- 
yard's irregolar  life  was  ended  at  Cairo,  whither  he  had  gone  under  the  auspices  of 
the  African  Association  of  London,  on  his  way  to  seek  for  the  sources  of  the  Nile. 
—  See  the  Biography  of  Ledyard,  by  Jared  Sparks. 

t  King  Louis  XVI.  is  said  to  have  planned  the  expedition  of  La  Pferouse  himself, 
and  to  have  drawn  up  the  greater  part  of  the  instructions  with  his  own  hand,  before 
he  communicated  his  intentions  to  any  other  person. 

t  No  account  of  this  extraordinary  place  has  been  given  by  any  other  navigator. 


I 


!!-!; 


164 


TOTAOC   or   LA   PER0U8E. 


[1786. 


tion.  Quitting  the  Port  des  Frangais  on  the  4th  of  August,  they 
sailed  towards  the  south,  and  examined  the  coasts  between  Mount 
San  Jacinto,  or  Edgecumb,  and  Port  BucareH,  as  well  as  those 
discovered  by  the  Spaniards  in  1774  and  1775,  between  the  54th 
and  the  52d  parallels,  forming  the  western  side  of  Queen  Char- 
lotte's Island,  the  separation  of  which  from  the  American  continent 
seems  to  have  been  suspected  by  La  P^rouse.  Continuing  onwards, 
they  passed  the  .mouth  of  Nootka  Sound  without  entering  it,  and; 
on  the  8th  of  September,  they  reached  Monterey,  where  they  were 
received  with  the  greatest  attention,  agreeably  to  orders  previously 
sent  thither  from  Mexico.  At  Monterey,  the  observations  were 
renewed,  and  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  that  part  of  the  coast 
were,  for  the  first  time,  accurately  determined ;  after  which,  on  the 
24th  of  the  month,  the  French  ships  quitted  the  American  coast 
forever. 

The  remarks  and  surmises  of  this  accomplished  officer,  on  several 
points  connected  with  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  display 
much  sagacity  and  science ;  but  his  labors  were  rendered  almost 
useless  to  the  world,  by  the  delay  in  the  publication  of  his  journals, 
which  did  not  appear  until  1797,  when  nearly  all  the  places  visited 
by  him  had  become  well  known,  from  the  descriptions  of  many 
other  navigators.* 

The  first  persons  who  actually  engaged  in  the  direct  trade 
between  the  north-west  coasts  of  America  and  China,  were  British 
subjects,  though  sailing,  nearly  all,  under  the  Portuguese  flag. 

At  the  time  of  the  publication  of  Cook's  journals,  the  British 
trade  in  the  Pacific  was  divided  between  two  great  commercial 
corporations,  each  possessing  peculiar  privileges,  secured  to  itself 
by  act  of  parliament,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  subjects  of  the 
same  nation.  Thus  no  British  subjects,  except  those  in  the  ser- 
vice, or  bearing  the  license,  of  the  South  Sea  Company,  could  make 

•  Sailing  from  Monterey,  La  Perouse  visited,  in  succession,  Macao,  the  Philippine 
Islands,  the  coast  of  Tartary,  Kaintchatka,  the  Navigators'  lehinds,  and  New  Hol- 
land. After  leaving  the  latter  country,  in  February,  1787,  nothing  was  heard  of  hia 
ships  until  1826,  when  information  was  received  by  the  French  government,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  a  vessel  was  sent  to  the  Pacific,  and  the  wrecks  of  both  vessels 
were  discovered  on  the  little  island  of  Malicolo,  one  of  ihe  New  Hebridijs  Archipel- 
ago, east  of  New  Holland.  From  the  accounts  of  the  natives,  it  appeared  that  a 
number  of  the  French  landed  on  the  island  after  the  wreck  of  their  ships,  and  built 
a  small  vessel,  in  which  they  took  their  departure,  and  were  doubtless  lost.  The 
journals  of  the  expedition,  and  letters  received  from  the  commander  and  other 
officers,  were  published  at  Paris  in  1797,  under  the  direction  of  Ciairet  de  FleurieUi 
and  were  immediately  translated  into  English  and  other  European  languages. 


1785.] 


VOTAOB   OF   HAKNA. 


165 


hne 
lol- 
I  his 
Ion- 
pels 
kel- 
It  a 
lilt 
Jhe 
Iher 
leU| 


expeditions,  for  trade  or  fishery,  by  way  of  Cape  Horn  or  Magel- 
lan's Strait<i,  to  any  part  of  the  west  coast  of  America,  or  the  seas 
and  islands  within  three  hundred  leagues  of  it:  while  no  British 
subjects,  not  employed  or  licensed  by  the  East  India  Company, 
could  proceed,  for  either  of  those  purposes,  around  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  to  any  seas  or  lands  east  of  that  point,  between  it 
and  Magellan's  Straits ;  with  the  provision,  however,  that  the  privi- 
leges conferred  on  the  East  India  Company  should  not  be  considered 
as  interfering  with  those  previously  granted  to  the  other  association. 
All  British  vessels,  found  trading  or  fishing  contrary  to  the  acts  by 
which  these  privileges  were  conferred,  became  liable  to  confiscation, 
and  the  persons  directing  such  expeditions  to  heavy  penalties. 

Thus  the  East  India  Company  could  carry  on  the  direct  trade 
between  the  north-west  coasts  of  America  and  China,  at  the  risk  of 
a  dispute  with  the  South  Sea  Company,  as  to  the  extent  of  the 
interference  with  the  privileges  of  the  latter ;  while  those  privileges 
were  rendered  entirely  useless  to  the  South  Sea  Company,  for  the 
purposes  of  that  trade,  by  the  exclusion  of  its  vessels  from  the 
Chinese  ports,  which  offered  the  principal,  if  not  the  only,  profitable 
market  for  furs.  Accordingly,  some  of  the  earliest  commercial 
expeditions  of  the  British  to  the  north-west  coasts  were  made  under 
the  flag  of  the  East  India  Company ;  while  other  subjects  of  that 
nation  eluded  the  regulations  of  both  companies,  by  engaging  in 
the  fur  trade,  under  the  flag  of  Portugal,  or  with  licenses  granted 
by  the  Portuguese  authorities  at  Macao,  near  Canton. 

The  earliest  of  these  expeditions  appears  to  have  been  that  of 
James  Hanna,  an  Englishman,  who  sailed  from  Macao,  in  a  small 
vessel  under  Portuguese  colors,  in  April,  1785,*  and  arrived  at 
Nootka  Sound  in  August  following.  The  natives  of  that  country 
at  first  refused  to  have  any  dealings  with  him,  and  endeavored  to 
seize  his  vessel,  and  murder  his  crew ;  but  they  were  foiled  in  the 
attempt,  and,  after  some  combats  between  the  parties,  a  trade  was 
established,  the  result  of  which  was,  that  Hanna  brought  back  to 

*  The  following  ncnoiint  of  tlie  movements  of  the  fur  traders  in  the  North  Pacific, 
between  1785  and  I7H!>,  in  derived  principally  from  the  Narrative  of  the  Voyage 
of  the  Ship  Queen  CImrlotto,  by  her  captain,  John  Dixon,  or  rather  by  her  super- 
cargo, Berogford  —  thi'  Narrative  of  the  Voyage  of  the  Ship  King  George,  by  her 
captain,  Natlmniol  I'ortlnck  —  the  Narrative  of  the  Voyages  of  Captain  John  Meares, 
to  which  is  prefixed  a  DisMPrtntlon  on  the  Probability  of  a  Northern  Passage  between 
the  Atlantic  and  tlin  l*n<!ific,  and  the  memorial  and  documents  in  proof,  presented 
by  Captain  MearoH  to  the  HritiKJi  parliament  in  May,  1790.  Many  notable  differences 
will  be  shown  to  exiit  between  the  statements  of  Meares  in  his  narrative  and  his 
mtmorial. 


I 


166 


VOYAGES   or    PETERS,   LOWRIE,   AND   MEARES. 


[1786. 


China,  before  the  end  of  the  year,  furs  worth  more  than  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  in  return  for  the  old  clothes,  iron,  and  trifles, 
which  he  had  carried  out  in  the  spring. 

In  1786,  Hanna  made  another  voyage  to  the  coasts ;  but  he  had 
then  to  compete  with  traders  from  Bengal  and  England,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  his  profits  were  much  less  than  in  the  preceding 
voyage.  In  the  same  year,  also,  an  attempt  was  made  to  establish 
a  direct  trade  between  Macao  and  Kamtchatka,  to  be  carried  on 
under  the  Portuguese  flag.  With  this  view,  Captain  Peters  was 
sent  in  the  brig  Lark  to  Petropawlowsk,  where  he  made  arrange- 
ments with  Schelikof,  the  head  of  the  American  Trading  Company, 
to  supply  them  regularly  with  European  and  Chinese  goods,  taking 
furs  in  return ;  but  the  Lark  was  lost,  with  nearly  all  on  board,  on 
Copper  Island,  one  of  the  westernmost  of  the  Aleutian  Archipelago, 
in  her  voyage  back  to  China,  and  no  attempt  for  the  same  purpose 
was  afterwards  made. 

Voyages  were,  about  the  same  time,  made  to  the  North  Pacific, 
in  search  of  furs,  by  Captains  Lowrie  and  Guise,  in  two  small 
vessels  from  Bombay,  and  by  Captains  Meares  and  Tipping,  in  two 
others  from  Calcutta,  all  under  the  flag  of  the  East  India  Company. 
Lowrie  and  Guise  went  to  Nootka  Sound,  and  thence  northward, 
along  the  coasts,  to  Prince  William's  Sound,  from  which  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Macao.  Meares  and  Tipping  sailed  to  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  and  thence  to  Prince  William's  Sound,  after  leaving  which 
nothing  was  ever  heard  of  Tipping  or  his  vessel :  Meares  spent  the 
winter  of  1786-7  in  that  sound,  where  more  than  half  of  his 
crew  died  from  want  or  scurvy. 

In  the  above-mentioned  voyages,  nothing  of  importance  was 
learned  respecting  the  geography  of  North-west  America.  In  order 
to  convey  a  clear  idea  of  tiie  extent  and  value  of  the  d?  ^overies 
effected  by  the  fur  traders  in  the  three  years  next  ensuing,  it  should 
be  premised  that,  in  the  beginning  of  that  period,  the  coast  of  the 
American  continent  was  supposed,  according  to  the  best  accounts 
and  charts,  to  run  in  a  regular,  and  almost  unbroken,  line  north- 
westward, from  Cape  Mendocino,  near  the  40th  degree  of  latitude, 
to  Mount  St.  Elias,  near  the  60th ;  the  innumerable  islands  which 
are  now  known  to  extend  in  chains  between  the  continent  and  the 
open  Pacific  Ocean,  from  the  48th  degree  to  the  58th,  being 
regarded  as  the  main  land  of  North  America.  The  western  sides 
of  the  most  western  of  these  islands  had  been  examined,  though 
imperfectly,  in  their  whole  length,  by  the  Spaniards,  in  1774  and 


1787. 


lUqUINNA,    KINO   or   NOOTKA. 


167 


being 


r4  and 


1775:  Cook  had,  in  1778,  seen  the  portions  about  Nootka  Sound 
and  Mount  San  Jacinto,  or  Edgecumb,  leaving  unexplored  the  inter- 
mediate shores,  which  were  represented  —  as  expressed  on  the  charts 
attached  to  his  journal  —  according  to  the  accounts  of  the  Spanish 
navigators;  and  those  coasts  had  also  been  seen  by  La  P^rouse, 
who  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  suspect  their  separation  from 
the  continent,  though  ho  took  no  measures  to  ascertain  the  fact,  by 
penetrating  any  of  the  numerous  openings  which  he  observed  when 
passing  them  in  1786.  The  coasts  south  of  Nootka  Sound,  to 
Cape  Mendocino,  were  not  visited  by  the  people  of  any  civilized 
nation  between  the  period  of  Cook's  voyage  and  1787 ;  and  the 
best  charts  of  them  were  those  of  the  Spaniards,  founded  on  the 
observations  of  Heceta  and  Bodega.  The  parts  respecting  which 
the  most  accurate  information  had  been  obtained  were  those  west- 
ward from  Mount  St.  Elias,  to  the  Aleutian  Islands :  that  divisioa 
of  the  coast  was,  indeed,  so  thoroughly  examined  by  Cook,  in  1778, 
that  very  little  was  left  for  subsequent  navigators,  except  to  verify 
his  statements  and  conclusions. 

The  principal  places  of  resort  for  the  fur  traders  on  the  American 
coasts  were,  Nootka  or  King  George's  Sound,  —  Norfolk  Sound,  the 
Port  Guadelupe  of  the  Spaniards,  near  their  Mount  San  Jacinto,  — 
Prince  William's  Sound,  and  Cook's  River.  The  two  last-mentioned 
places,  having  been,  in  1788,  occupied  by  the  Russians,  under 
Schelikof,  were  seldom  visited  afterwards  by  the  vessels  of  other 
nations ;  and,  as  the  country  about  Nootka  was  well  supplied  with 
wood  fit  for  ship-building,  and  had  a  more  agreeable  climate  than 
could  be  found  farther  north,  it  was  generally  selected  as  the  point 
of  destination,  rendezvous,  and  departure,  by  the  traders.  The 
people  there,  as  already  mentioned,  exhibited,  at  first,  great  oppo- 
sition to  the  foreigners ;  but  they  soon  acquired  a  taste  for  knives, 
blankets,  and  other  such  articles  of  luxury  or  use,  to  gratify  which 
they  were  ready  not  only  to  traffic,  but  even  to  engage  in  labor  with 
some  show  of  assiduity.  Their  king  was  named  Maquinna:  his 
relations,  Wicanish  and  Tatoochseatticus,  ruled  over  the  tribes 
farther  south-westward,  inhabiting  the  shores  of  two  large  bays, 
called  Clyoquot  and  Nittinat.  Maquinna,  whose  name  will  fre- 
quently appear  in  the  following  pages,  possessed  in  a  high  degree 
the  cunning,  ferocity,  and  vindictiveness,  characteristic  of  his  race ; 
for,  though  he  occasionally  exhibited  evidences  of  better  qualities, 
yet,  like  ^lie  other  chiefs,  he  seldom  lost  an  opportunity  for  the 


166 


TAMAHAHAHA,   KINO   Or    OWTHBB. 


[1787 


commission  of  an  act  of  blood  or  perfidy,  in  gratification  of  his 
desires  for  revenge  or  profit. 

The  importance  of  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  the  commerce  of  the 
whole  North  Pacific  was  also  soon  made  apparent;  and  they 
became,  in  a  few  years,  the  favorite  places  of  refreshment  of  all 
vessels  navigating  between  Cape  Horn  and  the  north-west  coasts 
of  America,  and  between  those  coasts  and  China.  Their  soil  is 
fertile,  their  climate  delightful,  and  their  productions  are  precisely 
those  most  useful  to  vessels  engaged  in  long  voyages.  Their 
inhabitants,  though  naturally  indolent,  false,  and  treacherous,  are 
not  positively  ferocious ;  and  they  are  endowed  with  much  cunning 
and  mechanical  aptitude,  which  led  them  quickly  to  perceive  the 
immediate  benefits  to  be  derived  from  an  intercourse  with  strangers, 
and  to  submit  to  restraints,  in  order  to  secure  such  advantages.  At 
the  time  of  their  discovery,  the  islands  were  governed  by  separate 
chiefs :  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  fifteen  years,  however,  they  all 
fell  under  the  authority  of  one  man,  Mahe-Mahe,  or  Tamahamaha, 
who,  by  the  possession  of  extraordinary  acuteness  and  sagacity, 
combined  with  courage  and  steadiness  of  purpose,  overcome  all 
his  rivals,  and  kept  up  something  like  a  regular  government  until 
his  death.  The  most  formidable  opponent  of  Tamahamaha  was 
Tianna,  a  resolute  and  ferocious  chief,  who  accompanied  Meares  to 
Canton  in  1787,  and  there  acquired  many  new  ideos,  which  gave 
him,  for  some  time,  considerable  advantages ;  but  he  was,  in  the 
end,  defeated  and  slain  by  his  rival. 

The  first  discoveries,  worthy  of  note,  made  on  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America,  after  Cook's  voyage,  were  those  of  Captains 
Portlock  and  Dixon,  who  were  sent  from  London,  in  1785,  in  com- 
mand of  the  ships  King  George  and  Queen  Charlotte,  by  a 
mercantile  association,  styled  the  King  George^s  Sound  Company. 
The  object  of  this  association  was  to  monopolize  the  direct  trade 
between  the  North  Pacific  coasts  and  China,  with  which  view  its 
operations  were  to  be  conducted  in  the  following  manner :  —  Under 
the  protection  of  licenses,  granted  by  the  South  Sea  Company,  its 
vessels  were  to  proceed,  by  way  of  Cape  Horn,  to  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America,  laden  with  goods,  which  were  there  to  be  bar- 
tered for  furs ;  the  furs  were  to  be  carried  to  Canton,  and  there 
sold  by  the  agents  of  the  East  India  Company,  agreeably  to  a  con- 
tract with  that  body ;  and  the  produce  of  their  sale  was ,  to  be 
vested  in  teas,  and  other  Chinese  commodities,  which  were  to  be 


1787.) 


▼OTAOES  or  PORTLOC   AND  DIXON. 


4fl» 


-west 
bar- 

Ithere 
con- 

Ito  be 

to  be 


brought  by  the  ships,  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to  England. 
Portlock  and  Dixon  were  both  intelligent  men,  well  acquainted  with 
the  theory  and  practice  of  navigation,  and  their  ships  were  well 
provided  with  instruments  for  ascertaining  geographical  positions ; 
the  narratives  published  by  them,  after  their  return  to  England, 
though  tedious  to  the  general  reader,  from  the  minuteness  of  the 
details  of  trifling  or  personal  matters,  and  not  always  strictly  true, 
are,  nevertheless,  valuable,  as  showing  the  history  of  the  fur  trade 
in  the  North  Pacific,  and  of  the  discovery  of  the  American  coasts 
of  that  ocean,  between  the  time  of  Cook's  expedition  and  the  year 
1788. 

Portlock  and  Dixon  left  England  together  in  August,  1785,  and, 
passing  around  Cupe  Horn,  and  through  the  group  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  they  reached  Cook's  River  in  July,  1786.  There  they  met 
some  Russians,  though  no  establishment  had  been  then  formed  by 
that  nation  east  of  the  Island  of  Kodiak ;  and,  after  a  short  stay, 
they  proceeded  to  Nootka  Sound,  where  they  expected  to  spend 
the  winter.  They  were,  however,  unable  to  enter  that  bay,  or  any 
other  place  on  the  American  coast,  in  consequence  of  the  violence 
of  the  winds,  and  were  obliged  to  return  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
where  they  remained,  very  uncomfortably,  until  the  spring  of  1787 : 
they  then  again  went  to  the  coasts  about  Cook's  River  and  Prince 
William's  Sound,  in  the  latter  of  which  places  they  found  Captain 
Meares,  with  his  vessel  frozen  up,  more  than  half  of  his  crew  dead, 
and  the  remainder  sufTering  dreadfully  from  scurvy,  as  already  men- 
tioned. The  manner  in  which  Meares  was  treated  by  his  country- 
men on  this  occasion,  has  been  represented  by  him,  in  the  narrative 
of  his  voyages,  in  a  manner  very  difTerent  from  that  in  which  it 
appears  on  the  pages  of  Portlock  and  Dixon ;  the  latter  asserting 
that  they  rendered  him  every  assistance  in  their  power,  while  he, 
on  the  other  hand,  declares  that,  their  conduct  towards  him  was 
selfish  and  inhuman  in  the  extreme. 

At  Prince  William's  Sound  Dixon  left  Portlock,  and  proceeded 
along  the  coast,  eastward,  to  the  inlet  on  the  south  side  of  Mount 
San  Jacinto,  or  Edgecumb,  called  Port  Remedios  by  Bodega,  but  to 
which  he  thought  proper  to  give  the  name  of  Norfolk  Sound.  He 
"  had,  indeed,  heard  that  the  Spaniards  anchored  very  near  this 
place  in  1775 ; "  but  this  account,  "  he  was  afraid,  was  not  absolutely 
to  be  depended  on,"  although  Maurelle's  journal,  containing  accu- 
rate descriptions  of  that  part  of  the  coast,  had  been  published  in 
English,  at  London,  in  1781.  In  like  manner,  Dixon  claimed  the 
22 


I 


m 


VOTAOEB    or    DUNCAN    AND    COLNETT. 


11787. 


discovery  of  tlio  land  farther  south,  between  the  54th  and  the  62d 
degrees  of  latitude,  on  the  ground  that  it  had  not  been  seen  by 
Cook,  though  it  is  specially  marked  on  the  chart  of  tiiat  navigator, 
as  found  by  the  Spaniards  in  1775 ;  and,  having  become  convinced, 
from  the  reports  of  the  natives,  that  this  land  was  separated  from 
the  American  continent  by  water,  ho  bestowed  on  it  the  name  of 
Q^ueen  Charhtte'a  Island,  and  on  the  passage  immediately  north  of 
it,  that  of  Dixon's  Entrance.  From  this  part  of  the  coast  Dixon 
proceeded  to  Nootka,  and  thence,  by  the  Sandwich  Islands,  to 
Canton,  where  he  rejoined  Portlock,  who  had  passed  the  whole  of 
the  trading  season  on  the  coast,  between  Prince  William's  Sound 
and  Mount  St.  Elias. 

In  China,  Portlock  and  Dixon  found  the  price  of  furs  much 
reduced,  from  the  great  quantities  of  those  articles  which  had 
entered  the  country  during  the  season ;  so  great,  indeed,  was  the 
fall  in  their  value,  that,  according  to  La  Perouse,  they  were  higher 
at  Petropawlowsk  than  at  Canton  during  the  whole  of  1787.  From 
this  circumstance,  and  also  from  the  alleged  unfairness  of  the  East 
India  Company's  agents  towards  them,  in  the  sale  of  their  cargoes, 
the  profits  of  the  voyage  of  the  King  George  and  the  Queen 
Charlotte,  from  the  teas  and  silks  which  they  carried  to  England, 
were  not  sufficient  to  cover  the  expenses  of  their  expedition. 

Before  Portlock  and  Dixon  quitted  the  north-west  coasts  of 
America,  in  1787,  they  met  two  other  vessels,  the  Princess  Royal, 
commanded  by  Captain  Duncan,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,  under 
Captain  Colnett,  which  had  been  also  sent,  by  the  King  George's 
Sound  Company,  to  prosecute  the  fur  trade  in  the  North  Pacific. 
Duncan,  in  the  following  year,  ascertained  the  separation  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island  from  the  main  land,  which  had  been  assumed  by 
Dixon,  and,  before  him,  by  La  Perouse ;  he  also  explored  the  seo 
between  that  island  and  the  continent,  in  which  he  discovered  a 
group  of  small  islands,  named  by  him  the  Princess  RoyaVs  Archi- 
pelago ;  and  thence  he  ran  down  the  coast,  by  Nootka  Sound  and 
Cape  Flattery,  to  the  47th  degree  of  latitude,  from  which  he  took 
his  departure  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  China. 

The  discovery  of  these  islands,  and  of  numerous  openings  in  the 
coast,  which  appeared  to  be  the  mouths  of  channels,  from  that  part 
of  the  Pacific,  extending  far  eastward  into  the  land,  led  to  the 
suspicion  that  the  whole  north-western  division  of  America  might  he 
a  vast  collection  of  islands ;  and  the  old  story  of  Admiral  Fonte's 
voyage  began  to  gain  credit.    The  islands  and  reputed  islands  in 


1787.] 


ncDiscovERT  or  TRK  STRAIT  or  rUCA. 


171 


sea 

red  a 

rchi- 

and 
took 


question  were  supposed  to  bo  the  Archipelago  of  St.  Laxanu, 
through  which  the  admiral  was  said  to  have  sailed  two  hundred  and 
■ixty  leagues  before  reaching  the  continent ;  and  the  commanders 
of  exploring  vessels,  sent  from  Euro|)e  and  America  to  the  North 
Pacificj  for  some  years  after,  were  generally  directed  to  seek,  near 
the  53d  parallel,  for  the  mouth  of  the  river  which  ho  was  reported 
to  have  ascended,  into  a  lake  communicating  with  tho  Atlantic. 
.  The  name  of  the  old  Greek  pilot,  Juan  dc  Fuca,  was  also,  about 
the  same  time,  rescued  from  oblivion,  by  tho  discovery,  or  redis- 
covery, of  a  "  broad  arm  of  tho  sea,"  stretching  eastwardly  from 
the  Pacific,  almost  exactly  in  the  position  of  the  southern  entrance 
of  the  strait,  through  which  he  declared  that  ho  had  sailed  from 
the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic  in  1592.  This  discovery  was  effected  in 
1787  by  Captain  Berkeley,  an  Englishman  commanding  a  ship  called 
the  Imperial  Eagle,  which  had  sailed  from  Ostend  in  the  preceding 
year,  under  tho  flag  of  the  Austrian  East  India  Company.  The 
passage  thus  found  was  situated  immediately  north  of  Cape  Flattery, 
to  the  coast  south  of  which  point  Cook  had  confined  his  search  for 
it  in  1778 ;  and  it  opened  to  the  ocean  between  the  48th  and  49th 
parallels,  instead  of  between  the  47th  and  48th,  as  stated  in  the 
account  of  the  voyage  of  Fuca.  Berkeley  did  not  attempt  to  ex- 
plore the  passage,  but,  sailing  along  the  coast  south  of  Cape  Flattery, 
which  had  not  been  seen  by  the  people  of  any  civilized  nation  since 
Cook's  voyage,  he  sent  a  boat  ashore  with  some  men,  who  were 
murdered  by  the  savages,  in  the  same  manner,  and  almost  at  the 
same  spot,  where  the  Spaniards  of  Bodega's  crew  were  massacred 
1775.     In  commemoration  of  this  melancholy  eyent,  Iho  name 


in 


ds  in 


of  Destruction  Island  was  given  to  the  small  point  of  land  near  the 
continent,  in  the  latitude  of  47  degrees  35  minutes,  which  had, 
for  the  like  reason,  been  called  by  the  Spaniards  Isla  de  Dolores. 
Berkeley,  on  his  arrival  at  Canton,  in  November  following,  commu- 
nicated the  account  of  his  rediscovery  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca  to 
Meares,  as  expressly  stated  by  the  latter,  in  the  Dissertation  prefixed 
to  tho  narrative  of  his  voyages  in  the  Pacific,  published  in  1790 ; 
though,  in  the  narrative  itself,  Meares  unequivocally  claims  as  his 
own  the  whole  merit  of  finding  the  passage. 

At  the  time  when  Berkeley  made  this  communication,  Meares 
was  engaged  in  preparations  for  a  trading  expedition  to  the  north- 
west coasts  of  America,  of  which  a  particular  notice  will  be  here 
presented ;  as  the  circumstances  connected  with  it  led  to  the  first 


i 


'1,^ 


m 


173 


SECOND  VOTAQE  OF  ME ARES. 


[1788 


dispute,  and  the  first  treaty,  between  civilized  nations,  relative  to 
that  part  of  the  world. 

For  the  expedition  in  question,  two  vessels  were  fitted  out  at  the 
Portuguese  port  of  Macao,  near  Canton,  in  China,  from  which,  as 
already  mentioned,  several  voyages  had  been  previously  made  to 
the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  in  search  of  furs.  They  were 
both  placed  under  the  direction  of  John  Mearc^  ;i  lieutenant  in  the 
British  navy,  on  half  pay,  who  sailed  in  the  ship  Felice  as  super- 
cargo ;  the  other  vessel,  the  brig  Iphigenia,  also  carried  a  British 
subject,  William  Douglas,  in  the  same  capacity :  both  vessels  were, 
however,  commanded,  ostensibly  at  least,  by  Portuguese  captains ; 
they  were  both  furnished  with  passports,  and  other  papers,  in  the 
Portuguese  language,  granted  by  the  Portuguese  authorities  of 
Macao,  and  showing  them  to  be  the  property  of  Juan  Cavallo,  a 
Portuguese  merchant  of  that  place ;  the  instructions  for  the  conduct 
of  the  voyage  were  written  only  in  the  Portuguese  language,*  and 
contained  nothing  whatsoever  calculated  to  atTord  the  slightest 
grounds  for  suspicion  that  other  than  Portuguese  subjects  were 
mterested  in  the  enterprise ;  finally,  the  vessels  sailed  from  Macao 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1788,  under  the  Portuguese  flag,  and  there 
is  no  sufficient  proof  that  any  other  was  displayed  by  them  during 
the  expedition. 

Notwithstanding  these  evidences  of  ownership  and  national  char- 
acter, which  appear  to  be  complete  and  unequivocal,  Mr.  Meares, 
in  the  Memorial  f  addressed  by  him  to  the  British  government,  in 
May,  1790,  asserts  that  the  Felice  and  Iphigenia,  as  well  as  their 
cargoes,  were  actually  and  bona  fide  British  property,  emiiloycd  in 
the  service  of  British  subjects  only ;  that  Cavallo  had  no  concern 
nor  interest  in  them,  his  name  being  merely  used,  with  his  consent, 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  from  the  governor  of  Macao,  who 

*  Sec  the  Journal  of  Douglas,  the  captain  or  supercargo  of  the  Iphigenia,  attached 
to  the  Memorial  of  Meares,  and  the  quotation  from  it  in  the  ensuing  chapter,  at 
page  102. 

t  The  London  Annual  Register  for  1700  contains  wliat  purports  to  be  the  Suh.ttance 
of  the  Memorial  of  Lieutenant  Meares,  S,'C.,  drawn  up  by  Meares  himself,  or  some  one 
in  his  interests.  In  this  Substance,  the  word  Portuguese  docs  not  occur,  nor  is  any 
thing  mentioned  relative  to  tlio  apparent  cliaractcr  of  the  vessels,  which  are,  on  the 
contrary,  directly  asserted  to  have  been  British  in  all  respects,  and  navigated  under 
the  British  flag.  Meares's  explanations,  in  his  Memorial,  relative  to  the  arrangements 
with  Cavallo,  are  all  omitted,  the  following  short  paragraph  being  inserted  in  their 
place:  —  "Mere  Mr.  Mearos,  by  way  of  illustration,  introduces  a  transaction  no 
otherwise  connected  with  his  narrative,  but  as  it  proves  the  merchandise,  &c.,  of 
which  the  Britisli  ships  were  plundered,  to  have  been  British  property."  ' ! !  Such 
are  the  materials  from  which  histories  are  generally  composed. 


If 


1788.] 


INSTRUCTIONS    TO    MGARES. 


173 


connived  at  the  whole  deception,  permission  to  navigate  under  the  Por- 
tuguese flag,  and  thereby  to  evade  the  excessive  port  charges  demand- 
ed, by  the  Chinese  authorities,  from  vessels  of  all  other  European 
nations;  and  that  Messrs.  Meares  and  Douglas  were  really  the 
commanders  of  the  vessels  in  which  they  respectively  sailed,  instead 
of  the  Portuguese  subjects,  who  figure  as  such  in  all  the  papers. 
Some  of  these  assertions  may  have  been  true ;  yot  the  documents 
annexed  to  the  Memorial  conclusively  prove  that  all  these  deceptive 
appearances  were  kept  up  at  Nootka  Sound,  where  there  were  no 
Chinese  authorities ;  though,  in  the  narrative  of  the  voyage,  pub- 
lished by  Mr.  Meares,  with  the  Memorial  and  documents,  no  hint 
is  given  that  either  of  the  vessels  were,  or  ever  seemed  to  be,  other 
than  British. 

The  instructions,  of  which  an  English  copy  or  version  —  dated 
China,  December  '24th,  1787,  and  signed  The  Merchant  Proprietors 
—  is  appended  to  the  Memorial,  contain  general  directions  for  the 
conduct  of  the  voyage,  but  no  allusion  whatsoever  to  the  acquisition 
of  lands,  the  erection  of  buildings,  or  the  formation  of  settlements  or 
establishments  of  any  Jcind,  in  America  or  elsewhere.  The  Felice 
was  to  go  to  Nootka  Sound,  from  which  she  was  to  make  trips 
northward  and  southward,  for  the  purposes  of  trade  an !  explora- 
tion ;  the  Iphigenia  was  to  sail  first  to  Cook's  River,  and  thence  to 
trade  along  the  coasts,  southward,  to  Nootka,  where  she  was  ex- 
pected to  arrive  in  September :  all  the  furs  collected  were  then  to 
be  placed  in  one  of  the  vessels,  and  brought  to  Macao,  the  other 
vessel  remaining,  until  the  spring,  either  on  the  American  coast  or 
at  the  Sandwich  Islands.  These  instructions  conclude  with  the 
following  remarkable  order  to  the  commanders  of  the  vessels :  — 
*'  Should  you,  in  the  course  of  your  voyage,  meet  with  any  Russian, 
English,  or  Spanish  vessels,  you  will  treat  them  with  civility  and 
friendship,  and  allow  them,  if  authorized,  to  examine  your  papers ; 
but  you  must,  at  the  same  time,  guard  against  surprise.  Should 
they  attempt  to  seize  you,  or  even  to  carry  you  out  of  your  way, 
you  will  prevent  it  by  every  means  in  your  power,  and  repel  force 
by  force.  You  will,  on  your  arrival  in  ti.c  first  port,  protest,  before 
a  proper  officer,  against  such  illegal  procedure,  and  ascertain,  as 
nearly  as  you  can,  the  value  of  your  vessel  and  cargo,  sending  your 
protest,  with  a  full  account  of  the  transaction,  to  us  at  China. 
Should  you,  in  such  a  conflict,  have  the  superiority,  you  will  take 
possession  of  the  vessel  that  attacked  you,  and  bring  both,  with  the 


\\\ 


174 


MEARES    ARRIVES    AT    NOOTKA. 


[1788. 


officers  and  crew,  to  China,  that  they  may  be  condemned  as  legal 
prizes,  and  the  crews  punished  as  pirates." 

The  latter  part  of  these  instructions,  independently  of  numerous 
other  circumstances  connected  with  the  expedition,  is  sufficient, 
alone,  to  show  that  the  owners  of  the  Felice  and  Iphigenia  meant 
to  represent  them  as  Portuguese  vessels.  As  British  vessels,  they 
could  not  legally  navigate  the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  being  unpro- 
vided with  licenses  or  authority  from  the  South  Sea  or  the  East 
India  Company:  if  found  so  doing,  they  would  be  subject  to 
seizure,  and  their  officers  c^^d  crew  to  punishment;  and  it  was, 
doubtless,  in  order  to  ev;  de  such  penalties,  to  which  they  might 
have  been  subjected  by  coming  in  contact  with  the  vessels  of  the 
King  George's  Sound  Company,  that  their  commanders  were 
directed  to  take,  and  bring  to  a  Portuguese  port,  for  trial  before 
Portuguese  courts,  any  English  vessels  which  should  attempt  to 
arrest  them  in  their  voyages. 

From  Macao  the  Iphigenia  went  to  Cook's  River,  at  which  place, 
and  others  farther  south-east,  she  passed  the  summer  in  trading. 
The  Felice  sailed  direct  to  Nootka  Sound,  where  her  crew  imme- 
diately began  the  construction  of  a  small  vessel,  on  the  shore  of 
Friendly  Cove,  near  which  was  situated  the  village  of  Maquinna, 
the  king  of  the  surrounding  country.  Mcares,  being  desirous,  whilst 
this  work  was  in  progress,  to  take  a  voyage  along  the  coast  to  the 
south,  made  arrangements  with  Maquinna,  who,  as  related  in  the 
narrative  of  the  expedition,  "  most  readily  consented  to  grant  us  a 
spot  of  ground  in  his  territory,  whereon  an  house  might  be  built, 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  people  we  intended  to  leave  behind, 
and  also  promised  us  his  assistance  and  protection  for  the  party  who 
were  destined  to  remain  at  Nootka  during  our  absence.  In  return 
for  this  kindness,  and  to  insure  the  continuance  of  it,  the  chief  was 
presented  with  a  pair  of  pistols,  which  ho  had  regarded  with  an  eye 
of  solicitation  ever  since  our  arrival.  Upon  this  spot  a  house,  suf- 
ficiently capacious  to  contain  all  the  party  intended  to  be  left  at 
the  sound,  was  erected  ;  a  strong  breastwork  was  thrown  up  around 
it,  enclosing  a  considerable  area  of  ground,  which,  with  one  piece 
of  cannon,  placed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  command  the  cove  and 
village  of  Nootka,  formed  a  fortification  sufficient  to  secure  the 
party  from  any  intrusion." 

That  this  spot  of  ground  was  granted  by  Maquinna,  and  w;is  to 
be  occupied  by  Meares,  only  for  temporary  purposes,  is  clear  from 


1788.] 


MEARES    AT   THE    STKAIT   OF    FUCA. 


175 


the  above  statement ;  and  Meares  nowhere  in  his  narrative  pretends 
that  he  acquired  permanent  possession  of  it,  or  of  any  other  land  in 
America.  On  the  contrary,  he  expressly  says  that,  "  as  a  bribe  to 
secure  Maquinna's  attachment,  he  was  promised  that,  when  we 
finally  left  the  coast,  he  should  enter  into  full  possession  of  the 
house,  and  all  the  goods  thereunto  belonging."  In  the  Memorial 
addressed  to  his  government,  however,  Meares  declares  that,  "  im- 
mediately on  his  arrival  at  Nootka  Sound,  he  purchased  from 
Maquinna,  the  chief  of  the  district  surrounding  that  place,  a  spot 
of  ground,  whereon  he  built  an  house,  for  his  occasional  residence, 
as  well  as  for  the  more  .convenient  pursuit  of  his  trade  among  the 
natives,  and  hoisted  British  colors  thereon."  Of  this  asserted 
purchase  of  land  and  erection  of  buildings  at  Nootka,  no  evidence 
or  mention  whatsoever  is  to  be  found  among  the  documents  sub- 
mitted with  the  Memorial  to  the  British  ministry,  except  in  the 
deposition  of  William  Graham,  of  Grub  Street,  a  seaman  of  the 
Felice,  taken  in  London  after  the  date  of  the  Memorial. 

Having  completed  these  arrangements,  Meares  sailed  from  Nootka 
in  the  Felice,  leaving  a  part  of  his  crew  employed  in  building  the 
small  vessel,  and  proceeded  to  the  entrance  of  the  passage  supposed 
to  be  the  Strait  of  iFuan  de  Fuca,  which,  as  he  expressly  states  in 
the  Dissertation  prefixed  to  his  narrative,  had  been  discovered  in 
the  preceding  year  by  Berkeley.  The  following  extract  from  his 
narrative  will  serve  still  further  to  show  what  value  is  to  be  placed 
on  his  testimony  in  matters  in  which  his  own  reputation  or  interests 
are  involved :  — 

"  June  29th.  At  noon  the  latitude  was  48  degrees  39  minutes 
north,  at  which  time  we  had  a  complete  view  of  an  inlet,  whose 
entrance  appeared  very  extensive,  bearing  east-south-east,  distant 
about  six  leagues.  We  endeavored  to  keep  up  with  the  shore  as 
much  as  possible,  in  order  to  have  a  perfect  view  of  the  land.  This 
was  an  object  of  particular  anxiety,  as  the  part  of  the  coast  along 
which  we  xvere  notv  sailing  had  not  been  seen  by  Captain  Coolc,  and 
we  Tcnew  no  other  navigator,  said  to  have  been  this  way,  except 
Maurelle ;  and  his  cliart,  which  we  now  had  on  board,  convinced 
us  that  he  had  either  never  seen  this  part  of  the  coast,  or  that  he 
had  purposely  misrepresented  it.  By  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
we  arrived  at  the  entrance  of  the  great  inlet,  which  appeared  to  be 
twelve  or  fourteen  leagues  broad.  From  the  mist  head,  it  was 
observed  to  stretch  to  the  east  by  the  north,  and  a  clear  and 
unbounded  horizon  was  seen,  in  this  direction,  as  far  as  the  eye 


li; 


176 


MEARES    SEEKS    TOR   THE    GREAT   RIVER. 


[1788. 


could  reach.  The  strongest  curiosity  impelled  us  to  enter  this 
strait,  which  we  shall  call  by  the  name  of  its  original  discoverer, 
John  de  Fuca." 

To  examine  the  passage,  —  of  which  he  thus  claims  the  discovery, 
after  having  distinctly  assigned  the  merit  of  it  to  another,  —  Meares 
sent  his  mate,  DufHn,  with  a  party  of  men,  in  a  boat.  In  a  few 
days  the  boat  returned,  with  several  of  her  crew  disabled  by 
wounds  received  in  a  conflict  with  the  natives  on  the  northern 
shore.  "  She  had  sailed,"  writes  Meares,  "  near  thirty  leagues  up 
the  strait ;  and,  at  that  distance  from  the  sea,  it  was  fifteen  leagues 
broad,  with  a  clear  horizon  stretching  to  the  east  for  fifteen  leagues 
more."  Yet,  from  Duffin's  journal,  which  is  given  entire  in  Mr. 
Meares's  work,  it  seems  that  the  boat  did  not  advance  ten  miles 
within  the  strait ;  and  we  now  know  that  the  width  of  the  passage 
nowhere,  within  thirty  leagues  of  its  mouth,  exceeds  five  leagues. 

From  the  entrance  of  this  passage,  which  has  ever  since  been 
distinguished  by  the  name  of  Strait  of  Fuca,  Meares  sailed  along 
the  shore  of  the  continent,  towards  the  south.  His  object  was  to 
examine  the  opening  in  the  coast,  laid  down  on  Spanish  charts  in 
his  possession,  near  the  46th  degree  of  latitude,  under  the  name 
Rio  de  San  Roquc,  or  River  of  Saint  Roc,  which  had  been  first 
observed  by  Heceta,  on  the  16th  of  August,  1775,  as  mentioned  in 
the  account  of  that  voyage.*  Proceeding  in  this  course,  he,  on  the 
5th  of  July,  remarked  a  headland,  in  the  latitude  of  46  degrees 
47  minutes,  which  he  named  Cape  Shoalwater ;  on  the  following 
day,  he  writes  in  his  journal,  — 

"  At  half  past  ten,  being  within  three  leagues  of  Cape  Shoalwater, 
we  had  a  perfect  view  of  it ;  and,  with  the  glasses,  we  traced  the 
line  of  coast  to  the  southward,  which  presented  no  opening  that 
promised  any  thing  like  an  harbor.  An  high,  bluff  promontory 
bore  off  us  south-east,  at  the  distance  of  only  four  leagues,  for 
which  we  steered  to  double,  with  the  hope  that  between  it  and 
Cape  Shoalwater  we  should  find  some  sort  of  harbor.  We  now 
discovered  distant  land  beyond  this  promontory,  and  we  pleased 
ourselves  with  the  expectation  of  its  being  Cape  St.  Roc  of  the 
Spaniards,  near  which  they  are  said  to  have  found  a  good  port. 
By  half  past  eleven,  we  doubled  this  cape,  at  the  distance  of  three 
miles,  having  a  clear  and  perfect  view  of  the  shore  in  every  part, 
on  which  we  did  not  discern  a  living  creature,  or  the  least  trace  of 
habitable  life.     A  prodigious  easterly  swell  rolled  on  tlie  shore,  and 


•  Page  120. 


1788.] 


MEAUES    DOES    NOT    FIND   THE    OBEAT   RIVER. 


ni* 


the  soundings  gradually  decreased  from  forty  to  sixteen  fathoms,  over 
a  hard,  sandy  bottom.  After  we  had  rounded  the  promontory,  a 
large  bay,  as  we  had  imagined,  opened  to  our  view,  *hat  bore  a  very 
promising  appearance,  and  into  which  we  steered  with  every  en- 
couraging expectation.  The  high  land  that  formed  the  boundaries 
of  the  bay  was  at  a  great  distance,  and  a  flat,  level  country  oc<yi- 
pied  the  intervening  space ;  the  bay  itself  took  rather  a  westerly 
direction.  As  we  steered  in,  the  water  shoaled  to  nine,  eight,  and 
seven  fathoms,  when  breakers  were  seen  from  the  deck,  right 
ahead,  and,  from  the  mast  head,  they  were  observed  to  extend 
across  the  bay ;  we  therefore  hauled  out,  and  directed  our  course  to 
the  opposite  shore,  to  see  if  there  was  any  channel,  or  if  we  could 
discover  any  port.  The  name  of  Cape  Disappointment  was  given 
to  the  promontory,  and  the  bay  obtained  the  title  of  Deception  Bay. 
By  an  indifferent  meridian  observation,  it  lies  in  the  latitude  of  46 
degrees  10  minutes  north,  and  in  the  computed  longitude  of  235 
degrees  34  minutes  east. 

"  We  can  now  with  safety  assert  that  there  is  no  such  river  as  that 
of  St.  Roc  exists,  as  laid  down  in  the  Spanish  charts.  To  those  of 
Maurelle  we  made  continual  reference,  but  without  deriving  any 
information  or  assistance  from  them.  We  now  reached  the  opposite 
side  of  the  bay,  where  disappointment  continued  to  accompany  us ; 
and,  being  almost  certain  that  there  we  should  obtain  no  place  of 
shelter  for  the  ship,  we  bore  up  for  a  distant  headland,  keeping  our 
course  within  two  miles  of  the  shore."  This  distant  headland,  in 
the  latitude  of  45  degrees  37  minutes,  named  by  Meares  Cape 
Lookout,  and  probably  the  same  called  by  the  Spaniards  Cape 
Falcon,  was  the  southernmost  point  seen  by  him ;'  thence  he  re- 
turned to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  without  again  observing  the  land, 
having,  as  he  conceived,  "  traced  every  part  of  the  coast,  which 
unfavorable  weather  had  prevented  Captain  Cook  from  approaching." 

The  language  of  Mr.  Meares  in  the  preceding  extracts,  though 
somewhat  ungrammatical,  is  yet  clear  and  explicit.  He  records 
with  satisfaction  his  conviction,  founded  on  his  own  observations, 
that  "  no  such  river  as  that  of  St.  Roc  exists,  as  laid  doion  in  the 
Spanish  charts ; "  in  token  of  which  conviction,  he  assigns  the 
names  of  Deception  Bay  and  Cape  Disappointment  to  the  places  on 
the  American  coast,  near  the  latitude  of  46  degrees  10  minutes, 
where  the  mouth  of  the  river  should  have  been  found,  according  to 
the  Spanish  charts.  Yet,  strange  though  it  may  appear,  the  com- 
missioners, appointed  by  the  British  government,  in  1826,  to  treat 
23 


■It 


m 


!     I 


^'^ll 


•I 


178 


MEAKES   RETURNS   TO   CHINA. 


[1788. 


with  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  at  London,  on  the 
subject  of  the  claims  of  the  respective  parties  to  territories  on  the 
north-west  side  of  America,  insisted  that  Meares,  on  this  occasion, 
discovered  the  great  River  Columbia,  which  actually  enters  the 
Pacific  at  Deception  Bay,  and  cited,  in  proof  of  their  assertion,  the 
very  parts  of  his  narrative  above  extracted.* 

On  his  way  back  to  Nootka,  Meares  visited  the  two  large  bays, 
called  by  the 'natives  Clyoquot  and  Nittinat,  and  by  himself  Port 
Cox  and  Port  Effingham,  situated  a  little  north>west  of  the  entrance 
of  Fuca's  Strait,  where,  he  declares  in  his  Memorial  to  Parliament, 
"  he  obtained  from  Wicanish,  the  chief  of  the  surrounding  districts, 
in  consequence  of  considerable  presents,  the  promise  of  a  free  and 
exclusive  trade  with  the  natives  of  the  district,  as  also  permission 
to  build  any  storehouses  or  other  edifices  which  he  might  judge 
necessary;  and  he  also  acquired  the  same  privileges  of  exclu- 
sive trade  from  Tatooche,  the  chief  of  the  country  bordering  upon 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  purchased  from  him  a  tract  of  land  within 
the  said  strait,  which  one  of  his  officers  took  possession  of,  in  the 
king's  name,  calling  the  same  Tatooche,  in  honor  of  the  chief." 
These  purchases  and  cessions  of  territory  are  not,  however,  in  any 
manner  noticed,  either  in  the  documents  annexed  to  the  Memorial, 
or  in  the  narrative  of  the  voyage,  which  is  most  tediously  minute 
as  to  the  circumstances  of  Mr.  Meares's  interviews  with  those  chiefs. 

At  the  end  of  July,  Meares  returned  to  Nootka  Sound,  where 
the  Iphigenia  soon  after  arrived  from  the  northern  coasts,  laden  with 
furs.  The  small  vessel,  which  had  been  begun  at  Friendly  Cove, 
was  then  launched,  and  received  the  name  of  the  North'West 
America ;  and  Meares,  considering  the  season  as  not  too  far  ad- 
vanced for  a  voyage  across  the  Pacific,  transferred  to  the  Felice 
all  the  furs  which  had  been  collected,  and  sailed  in  her,  on  the 
28th  of  September,  for  China,  leaving  directions  that  the  Iphigenia 
and  the  North- West  America  should  proceed  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands  for  the  winter,  and  return  in  the  following  spring  to  Nootka, 
where  he  would  rejoin  them. 

Before  the  departure  of  Meares  from  Nootka,  two  other  vessels 
entered  the  sound,  whose  voyages  merit  particular  attention. 

Immediately  after  the  recognition  of  the  independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  the  citizens  of  that  republic  resumed  the 


*  See  British  statement,  among  the  Proofs  and  IHustrations,  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  Tolome,  letter  H. 


1787.] 


AMERICANS    ENGAGE    IN   TRADE    IN   THE    PACiriC. 


179 


whale  and  aeal  fishery  around  Cape  Horn,  which  they  had  canied 
on  before  the  revolution,  and  also  engaged  in  the  direct  trade  with 
India  and  China.  In  the  latter  countries,  however,  they  labored 
under  great  disadvantages,  from  the  inferiority  in  value  of  the 
articles  carried  thither  to  those  brought  back  by  them,  in  conse- 
quence of  which  they  were  obliged  to  take  out  large  quantities  of 
specie,  in  order  to  obtain  full  homeward  cargoes.  With  tlie  view 
of  obviating  this  inequality,  some  merchants  of  Boston,  in  1787, 
formed  an  association  for  the  purpose  of  combining  the  fur  trade 
of  the  North  Pacific  with  the  China  trade,  as  attempted  by  the 
King  George's  Sound  Company  of  London ;  and  in  such  an  enter- 
prise thoy  certainly  had  reason  to  anticipate  success,  as,  with 
industry  and  nautical  skill  unsurpassed  by  any  other  nation,  the 
Americans  were  free  from  the  restrictions  imposed  on  British 
subjects  by  the  charters  of  the  South  Sea  and  East  India  Com- 
panies.^ 

In  prosecution  of  this  scheme,  the  ship  Columbia,  of  two  hundred 
and  twenty  tons,  and  the  sloop  Washington,  of  ninety  tons,  were 
fitted  out  at  Boston  in  the  summer  of  1787,  and  laden  with  blan- 
kets, knives,  iron  bars,  copper  pans,  and  other  articles  proper  for  the 
trade  with  the  Indians  on  the  north-west  coasts.  The  Columbia 
was  commanded  by  John  Kendrick,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the 


the 
the 

lart  of 


*  Tho  first  American  citizens  who  engaged  in  the  whaling  and  sealing  business 
around  Cape  Horn,  afler  the  peace  of  1783,  were  the  Nantucket  men,  as  will  be  here- 
after more  particularly  stated. 

Tiie  first  American  vessel  which  entered  the  port  of  Canton  was  the  ship  fimpress 
of  China,  from  New  York,  commanded  by  Daniel  Parker,  with  Samuel  Shaw  as 
supercargo:  she  arrived  in  China  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1784,  and 
returned  to  Now  York  in  May  of  the  following  year.  Mr.  Shaw  was  appointed 
consul  of  tho  United  States  at  Canton  in  January,  1796;  and,  on  the  Slst  of  Decem- 
ber of  tliu  same  year,  he  addressed  to  his  government,  from  Canton,  an  interesting 
memoir  on  tiio  state  of  commerce  at  that  place,  which  still  remains,  with  many  other 
communications  from  him,  unpublished,  in  the  archives  of  the  Department  of  State  at 
Washington.  In  17H7,  not  less  than  five  American  vessels  were  employed  in  the 
trade  witii  China ;  among  them  were  the  Canton,  under  Captain  Thomas  Truxton, 
who  afterwards  distingijiHhed  himself  in  the  naval  service  of  his  country,  and  the  old 
frigate  Mliiince,  so  cclubrati-d  during  the  war  of  the  revolution,  which  had  been  sold 
by  order  of  Congress,  and  fitted  out  as  a  trading  vessel,  under  the  command  of  John 
Reed.  The  Alliancn  entered  Canton  on  the  29th  of  December,  1787;  and  her  arrival 
at  that  season  caused  mneli  astonishment,  as  it  had  been  previously  considered  impos- 
sible for  a  vessel  to  siiil  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  to  China  between  October  and 
April,  on  account  of  tho  violence  of  the  winds,  blowing  constantly,  during  that 
period,  from  tl\e  north-enst.  Reed,  however,  had  steered  eastward  from  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  to  tlio  soiitliern  extremity  of  Van  Dieman's  Land,  around  the  east  coasts 
of  wtiich  island,  and  of  New  Holland,  he  sailed  into  the  China  Sea;  and  the  course 
thus  pointed  out  by  him  has  been  since  often  taken,  especially  by  American  vessels. 


\  iy 


I 


'if 


180 


TOTAOKS   or   THE   COLUMBIA   AND   WABHINOTON. 


[1788. 


direction  of  the  expedition ;  and  her  mate  was  Joseph  Ingraham, 
whose  name  will  often  appear  in  the  following  pages.  The 
master  of  the  Washington  was  Ro'oert  Gray.  They  were  provided 
with  sea  letters  issued  by  the  federal  government,  agreeably  to  a 
resolution  of  Congress,  and  with  passports  from  the  state  of  Massa- 
chusetts; and  they  received  letters  from  the  Spanish  minister 
plenipotentiary  in  the  United  States,  recommending  them  to  the 
attention  of  the  authorities  of  his  nation  on  the  Pacific  coasts. 
They,  moreover,  carried  out,  for  distribution  at  such  places  as  they 
might  visit,  a  number  of  small  copper  coins,  then  recently  issued 
by  the  state  of  Massachusetts,*  and  likewise  medals  of  copper, 
struck  expressly  for  the  purpose,  of  one  of  which  a  representation  is 
here  given.  '      '  • 


The  two  vessels  sailed  together  from  Boston  on  the  30th  of 
September,  1787 :  thence  they  proceeded  to  the  Cape  Verd  Islands, 
and  thence  to  the  Falkland  Islands,  in  each  of  which  places  they 
procured  refreshments ;  and,  in  January,  1788,  they  doubled  Cape 
Horn,  immediately  after  which  they  were  separated  during  a  violent 
gale.  The  Washington,  continuing  her  course  through  the  Pacific, 
made  the  north-west  coast  in  August,  1788,  near  the  46th  degree 
of  latitude,  where  she  was  in  danger  of  destruction,  having  grounded 
while  attempting  to  enter  an  opening,  which  was,  most  probably, 
the  mouth  of  the  great  river  afterwards  named  by  Gray  the 
Columbia.  She  was  also  attacked  there  by  the  savages,  who  killed 
one  of  her  men,  and  wounded  the  mate ;  but  she  escaped  without 
further  injury,  and,  on  the  17th  of  September,  reached  Nootka 

•  Alexander  Mackenzie,  in  July,  1793,  found,  in  the  possession  of  a  native  of  the 
country  east  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  a  "halfpenny  of  the  state  of  Massachuselts  Bay, 
corned  in  1787,"  which  was  doubtless  one  of  those  taken  out  by  Kendrick  and 
Gray. 


1788.J 


rr/AOCS  OF   THB   COUIIIBIA  AND   WASHINGTON. 


181 


Sound,  where  the  Felice  and  Iphigenia  were  lying,  as  already 
mentioned.*  The  Columbia  did  not  enter  the  sound  until  some 
days  afterwards.  She  had  been  seriously  injured  in  the  storm 
which  separated  her  from  her  consort ;  and  Kendrick  was  obliged, 
in  consequence,  to  put  into  the  harbor  of  the  Island  of  Juan  Fer- 
nandez, where  he  was  received  with  great  kindness,  and  aided 
in  refitting  his  vessel,  by  Don  Bias  Gonzales,  the  commandant  of 
the  Spanish  garrison.  The  repairs  having  been  completed,  the 
Columbia  continued  her  voyage,  and  arrived  at  Nootka,  which 
had  been  selected  as  the  place  of  rendezvous,  without  further 
accident,  in  October. 

Soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  Columbia  at  Nootka,  the  Iphigenia 
and  North- West  America  took  their  departure  for  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  where  they  remained  until  the  spring  of  1789.  The  two 
American  vessels  spent  the  winter  in  the  sound,  where  the  Columbia 
also  lay  during  the  whole  of  the  following  summer,  whilst  the 
important  events  related  in  the  next  chapter  were  in  progress. 

*  Meares,  in  his  narrative,  gives  the  following  account  of  the  arrival  of  the 
Washington  at  Nootka  Sound:  — 

>•  September  17th,  1788. — A  sail  was  seen  in  the  oiBng.  The  long-boat  v/na  imme- 
diately sent  to  her  assistance,  which,  instead  of  the  British  vessel  we  expected, 
conveyed  into  the  sound  a  sloop  named  the  Washington,  from  Boston,  in  New 
England,  of  about  one  hundred  tons'  burthen.  Mr.  Gray,  the  master,  informed  us 
that  he  had  sailed,  in  company  with  his  consort,  the  Columbia,  a  ship  of  three  hundred 
tons,  in  the  month  of  August,  1787,  being  equipped,  under  the  patronage  of  Congress, 
to  examine  the  coast  of  America,  and  to  open  a  fur  trade  between  New  England  and 
this  part  of  the  American  continent,  in  order  to  provide  funds  for  their  China  ships, 
to  enable  them  to  return  home  teas  and  China  goods.  The  vessels  were  separated  in 
a  heavy  gale  of  wind,  in  the  latitude  of  59  south,  and  had  not  seen  each  other  since 
the  period  of  their  separation ;  but,  as  King  George's  Sound  wis  the  place  of  ren- 
dezvous appointed  for  them,  the  Columbia,  if  she  was  safe,  was  every  day  expected 
to  join  her  consort  at  Nootka.  Mr.  Gray  informed  me  that  he  had  put  into  an  harbor 
on  the  coast  of  New  Albion,  where  he  got  on  shore,  and  was  in  danger  of  being  lost 
on  the  bar ;  he  was  also  attacked  by  the  natives,  had  one  man  killed,  and  one  of  his 
officers  wounded,  and  thought  himself  fortunate  in  having  been  able  to  moke  his 
escape.  This  harbor  could  only  admit  vessels  of  small  size,  and  must  lie  somewhere 
near  the  cape  to  which  we  had  given  the  name  of  Cape  Lookout." 

That  this  harbor  was  the  movih  of  the  great  river  since  called  the  Columbia,  is  most 
probable  from  its  situation,  and  because  there  is  no  evidence  or  reason  to  suppose  that 
Gray  visited  that  part  of  the  coast  on  any  other  occasion  prior  to  his  meeting  with 
Vancouver,  oi  the  29th  of  April,  1792,  as  will  be  related  in  the  eleventh  chapter. 


I  i  ; 


}tka 


and 


m^ 


'ft  ( 


•I  Si  - 


>MJ    * 


tJIfef^i 


,1/    '„ 


•>« 


'  .> 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


.  j:,-.".|i      vVt^t; 


1788  AND  1789. 


I;         t.    \iiifl(  '  J;^.      » 


Uneaainera  of  the  Spanish  GtoTerntnent  at  the  Proceedings  of  the  Far  Traders  in  the 
North  Pacific  —  Voyage  of  Observation  by  Martinez  and  Haro  to  the  Russian 
American  Settlements  —  Remonstrances  of  the  Court  of  Madrid  to  that  of  St. 
Petersburg,  against  the  alleged  Encroachments  of  the  latter  Power  —  Martinez 
and  Haro  sent  by  the  Viceroy  of  Mexico  to  take  Possession  of  Nootka  Sound  — 
Seizure  of  British  and  other  Vessels  at  Nootka  by  Martinez  —  Captain  Gray,  in 
the  Washington,  explores  the  East  Coast  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  and  en- 
ters the  Strait  of  Fuca  —  Return  of  the  Columbia  to  the  United  States. 


Haying,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  presented  a  sketch  of  the  geo- 
graphical discoveries  effected  on  the  north-west  coasts  of  America, 
in  the  interval  between  the  time  of  Cook's  last  voyage  and  the  year 
1790,  we  now  proceed  to  relate  the  important  events  of  a  political 
nature,  which  occurred  on  those  coasts  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
same  period.  These  events  have  been  variously  represented  —  or 
rather  misrepresented  —  by  the  historians  to  whom  reference  is  usu- 
ally made  for  information  respecting  them ;  "i**  and  ample  proofs  will 
be  here  offered,  that  the  most  essential  circumstances  have  been  ex- 
hibited in  false  forms,  and  under  false  colors,  either  designedly,  or 
from  indifference  and  want  of  research  on  the  part  of  the  authors. 

The  movements  of  the  fur  traders  in  the  North  Pacific  were, 
from  the  beginning,  regarded  with  dissatisfaction  and  mistrust  by  the 
court  of  Madrid.  It  was  at  first  proposed  to  counteract  them  by 
monopolizing  that  branch  of  commerce ;  for  which  object  an  agent 
was  despatched  to  California,  in  1786,  with  orders  to  collect  all  the 


*  Namely,  the  histories  of  England,  by  Bissett,  Miner,  Belsham,  (in  which  latter 
the  accounts  ore  more  fair  and  more  nearly  correct  than  in  any  other,)  Hughes,  Wade, 
and  the  Pictorial  History  of  England  —  Schoell's  Histoire  des  Traites  de  Paix  —  Bren- 
ton's  Naval  History  of  Great  Britain,  last  edition  —  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of 
Galiano  and  Valdes  —  History  of  Maritime  and  Inland  Discovery,  by  T.  D.  Cooley  — 
Giiford's  Life  of  William  Pitt,  &c.  In  the  most  recent  of  these  works,  namely,  the 
Pictorial  History  of  England,  the  account  is  farthest  from  the  truth ;  the  author  has 
evidently  not  consulted  any  original  evidence  on  the  subject,  except,  possibly,  the 
Memorial  of  Meares,  or  tiie  abstract  of  that  paper  in  the  Annual  Register. 


1786.] 


APPRBHKiraiONS   or   THB    SPANISH    OOTEIUmifT. 


163 


liter 
ade, 
ren- 
ilof 

y— 

the 
has 
the 


sea  otter  skins  *  obtainable  there,  and  carry  them  for  sale  to  Canton : 
but  the  enterprise  proved  unsuccessful,  as  the  agent  could  only  ob- 
tain a  small  number  of  furs,  of  inferior  quality,  the  produce  of  the 
sale  of  which  in  China  did  not  cover  the  expenses  of  their  trans- 
portation. 

Considerable  uneasiness  was  also  created  at  Madrid,  by  the  en- 
deavors of  the  British  government  to  advance  the  whale  and  seal 
fishery  in  the  seas  surrounding  the  southern  extremity  of  America. 
A  number  of  experienced  whalers,  especially  from  Nantucket,  had 
been  induced,  immediately  after  the  peace  of  1783,  to  engage  in 
this  business,  under  the  British  flag;  and  high  premiums  were 
offered  by  act  of  Parliament,  in  1786,  to  encourage  perseverance  in 
the  pursuit.  As  British  vessels  and  subjects  would  thus  necessa- 
rily frequent  the  unoccupied  coasts  of  Patagonia  and  the  adjacent 
islands,  it  was  apprehended,  by  the  Spanish  government,  that  estab- 
lishments might  be  formed  in  those  regions,  for  their  protection ; 
the  natural  consequence  of  which  would  be,  the  introduction  of 
foreign  merchandise,  and  of  opinions  contrary  to  the  interests  of 
Spain,  into  the  contiguous  provinces.  In  order  to  provide  against 
these  evils,  the  Spaniards  increased  their  garrison  at  Port  Soledad, 
m  the  Falkland  Islands,  as  well  as  their  naval  force  in  that  quarter ; 
and  an  attempt  was  made,  under  the  patronage  of  their  government, 
to  organize  a  company  for  the  whale  and  seal  fishery  in  the  South- 
ern Ocean,  which  proved  entirely  abortive. 

It  was  from  Russia,  however,  that  the  Spanish  government  an- 
ticipated the  greatest  danger  to  its  dominions  on  the  Pacific  side  of 
America.  Of  the  commerce  and  establishments  of  that  nation  on 
the  northernmost  coasts  of  the  Pacific,  enough  had  been  learned 
from  the  narrative  of  Cook's  expedition,  and  other  works  then  re- 
cently published,  to  show  their  advancement,  and  the  enterprise  of 
those  by  whom  they  were  conducted,  as  well  as  the  determination 
of  the  Russian  government  to  maintain  and  encourage  them ;  and 
La  Pdrouse,  during  the  stay  of  his  ships  at  Conception,  in  Chili,  in 
1786,  promised,  at  the  particular  request  of  the  captain-general,  to 
communicate  confidentially  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  the  results  of 
the  observations  on  those  subjects  which  he  might  make  in  Kamt- 
chatka  and  the  islands  and  coasts  of  America  adjacent.  La  Pe- 
rouse,  however,  did  not  return  to  America  after  his  visit  to  Kamt- 
chatka,  nor  was  any  information  on  the  points  in  question  received 
from  him  by  the  Spanish  authorities ;  and  the  viceroy  of  Mexico, 


■I 


^  :i 


•  La  P^rouse  —  Portlock. 


184 


APPMBBBlfBIOIfl   or  TBI   IPAMISH   OOTMmnClfT,        [1787. 


having  waited  in  tain  for  the  promiied  intelligence  until  the  ena  of 

1787,  resolved  to  despatch  veifelB  to  the  North  Pacific,  in  order  to 
aiceftaln  the  truth  with  regard  to  the  trade  and  lettlementi  of  the 
Russians  and  other  foreign  nationi  on  the  coasts  of  that  division  of 
the  ocean. 

Before  relating  the  particulars  of  the  expedition  made  for  that 
purpose,  a  circumstance  may  be  mentioned,  which  serves  to  show 
the  state  of  fdeling  of  the  Spanish  government  at  the  period '  in 
question,  with  regard  to  the  proceedings  of  foreigners  in  the  Pacific, 
and  the  extent  of  the  measures  which  it  was  ready  to  adopt  in  order 
to  exclude  them  from  that  ocean.  It  has  been  said,  in  the  preced- 
ing chapter,  that  the  ship  Columbia  having  received  some  damage 
on  her  way  from  Boston  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  in  May, 

1788,  entered  a  harbor  in  the  Island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  where  as- 
sistance was  aflforded  in  reatting  her  by  the  Spanish  commandant 
Don  Bias  Gonzales  and  his  garrison.  After  her  departure,  the 
commandant  communicated  the  circumstances,  by  a  despatch,  to 
his  immediate  superior,  the  captain-general  of  Chili,  who  thereupon 
recalled  Gonzales  from  the  island,  and  placed  him  in  arrest,  address- 
ing, at  the  same  time,  a  report  on  the  subject,  with  a  request  for 
instructions,  to  the  viceroy  of  Peru.  The  viceroy,  after  consulting 
with  his  official  legal  adviser,  replied  to  the  captain-general  at  length 
on  the  subject,  and  expressed  his  surprise  and  displeasure  at  the  mis- 
conduct of  the  commandant  of  Juan  Fernandez,  in  allowing  the 
strange  ship  to  leave  the  harbor,  instead  of  seizing  her  and  her  crew ; 
as  he  should  have  known  that,  by  the  royal  ordinance  of  November, 
1692,  every  foreign  vessel  found  in  those  seas,  without  a  license 
from  the  court  of  Spain,  was  to  be  treated  as  an  enemy,  even  though 
belonging  to  a  friend  or  ally  of  the  king,  seeing  that  no  other  nation 
had,  or  ought  to  have,  any  territories,  to  reach  which  its  vessels 
should  pass  around  Cape  Horn  or  through  Magellan's  Straits.  In 
so  serious  a  light  did  the  viceroy  regard  the  matter,  that  a  ship  was 
sent  from  Callao  to  track  or  intercept  the  Columbia ;  the  authori- 
ties on  the  coasts  of  Peru  and  Chili  were  specially  enjoined  to  be 
vigilant,  and,  in  case  any  foreign  vessel  should  appear  in  the  vicini- 
ty, to  seize  her ;  and  the  whole  aflair  was  made  known  by  a  de- 
spatch to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  in  order  that  similar  precautions 
might  be  adopted  on  his  part.  The  unfortunate  commandant  Gon- 
zales was  cashiered  for  his  remissness ;  and  he  subsequently  ad- 
dressed a  petition  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  for  its 
iatercession  with  his  sovereign.    Thus  were  half  of  the  Spanish  do- 


1788.) 


VOTAOB    or    MARTINBS    AND    HABO. 


186 


minions  in  America  thrown  into  alarm  and  agitation,  by  the  appear- 
ance of  a  trading  ship  from  the  UniltJ  Slates  on  the  Pacific:  yet 
Tcodor  Lacroix,  the  viceroy  of  Peru,  and  Ambrose  O'Higgins,  cap- 
tain-general  of  Chili,  were  men  of  education  und  experience,  distin- 
guished for  their  courage  and  sagacity ;  bdt  such  wa«  the  jealous 
system  which  they  were  bound  to  support.* 

For  the  expedition  of  inquiry  to  the  uurth-west  coasts  of  America, 
the  viceroy  of  Mexico  employed  two  vessels,  (he  corvette  Prince§a, 
commanded  by  Eslcvan  Martinez,  (who  had  been  the  pilot  in  the 
voyage  of  Juan  Perez,  in  1774,)  and  the  schooner  San  Carlos,  under 
Lieutenant  Gonzalo  Haro.  They  were  instructed  to  proceed  direct- 
ly to  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  to  make  every  possible  inquiry 
and  examination  respecting  the  establishments  of  the  Russians  there 
and  in  other  parts  of  America  adjacent ;  having  completed  which, 
they  were  to  explore  the  coasts  southward  to  California,  if  time 
should  be  left  for  that  purpose,  seeking  particularly  for  places 
convenient  for  the  reception  of  Spanish  colonies :  and  they  were 
especially  enjoined  to  treat  the  natives  of  the  places  which  they 
might  visit  with  kindness,  and  not  to  engage  in  any  quarrel  with  the 
Russians. 

Of  this  voyage  of  Martinez  and  Haro,  a  short  account  will  suffice. 
They  quitted  San  Bias  on  the  dth  of  March,  1788,  and,  on  the 
25th  of  May,  they  anchored  in  the  entrance  of  Prince  William's 
Sound,  where  they  lay  nearly  a  month,  without  making  any  attempt 
to  examine  the  surrounding  shores.  At  length,  in  the  end  of  June, 
Haro,  having  sailed,  in  the  San  Carlos,  along  the  coast  of  the  ocean 
farther  south-west,  discovered  a  Russian  establishment  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Island  of  Kodiak,  under  the  command  of^  Greek,  named 
Delaref,  with  whom  he  was  able  to  communicate ;  and  from  this 
person  he  received  detailed  accounts  of  all  the  Russian  establish- 
ments in  that  quarter.  On  the  3d  of  July,  Haro  rejoined  Martinez, 
who  had,  in  the  mean  time,  explored  the  coasts  of  Prince  W^illiam's 
Sound ;  and  they  proceeded  together  along  the  eastern  side  of  the 

*  The  petition  of  Gonzales,  with  copies  of  his  reports  to  the  captain-general,  and 
the  sentence  pronounced  against  him,  remain  in  manuscript  in  the  archives  of  the 
Department  of  State  at  Washington.  Mr.  Jefferson,  secretary  of  state  of  the  United 
States,  recommended  his  case  to  the  Spanish  government,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Carmi- 
chael,  then  plenipotentiary  at  Madrid,  dated  April  11th,  1790,  with  what  success  is 
not  known.  The  other  particulars  here  related  of  this  curious  affair  are  derived  from 
the  Creneral  Report,  or  Instructions,  lefl  by  the  viceroy  of  Peru  to  his  successor,  on 
his  retirement  from  that  office,  which  was  published  at  London  in  1822,  in  the  BibKo- 
teea  Avurieana. 

24 


11 


i  1 


s .  i 
I 


•■ ' "! 


186 


rOTAQE   or   MARTINEZ   AND    HARO. 


{1789. 


peninsula  of  Aliaska,  to  Unalashka,  the  largest  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  where  they  arrived  on  the  30th  of  August.  There  they  re- 
mained until  the  18th  of  September,  receiving  every  attention  from 
the  Russians  belonging  to  the  factory,  and  then  sailed  for  the  south. 
In  their  voyage  homeward,  the  vessels  were  separated :  Haro  reached 
San  Bias  on  the  22d  of  October ;  Martinez  did  not  enter  that  port 
until  the  5th  of  December,  having  put  into  Monterey  for  refresh- 
ments.* 

The  geographical  observations  made  in  this  expedition  were  of 
little  value  at  the  time ;  and  it  would  be  needless  to  notice  them 
here,  as  the  coasts  to  which  they  relate  have  been  since  completely 
surveyed.  Agreeably  to  the  report  presented  by  Martinez,  on  his 
return  to  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  the  Russian  establishments  in  Amer- 
ica at  that  time  were  in  number  eight,  all  situated  east  of  Prince 
William's  Sound,  on  which,  however,  one  was  tlien  in  progress ; 
and  they  contained,  together,  two  hundred  and  fifty-two  Russian 
subjects,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  natives  of  Kamtchatka  or  Sibe- 
ria. Martinez  was,  moreover,  informed  that  two  vessels  had  been 
sent  in  that  summer  from  Kodiak,  to  found  a  settlement  at  Nootka 
Sound,  and  that  two  large  ships  were  in  preparation  at  Ochotsk,  for 
further  operations  of  the  same  nature.  The  vessels  sent  from  Ko- 
diak were  doubtless  those  which  proceeded,  under  Ismyloff  and 
Betscharef,  along  the  coast  eastward  to  the  foot  of  Mount  St.  Elias ; 
the  others  were  those  intended  for  the  expedition  under  Billings, 
which  was  not  begun  until  1790. 

These  accounts  of  the  establishments  and  projects  of  the  Rus- 
«ians  were  immediately  communicated  to  the  court  of  Madrid, 
which  addressed  to  the  empress  of  Russia  a  remonstrance  against 
«uch  encroachments  of  her  subjects  upon  the  territories  of  his  Cath- 
olic majesty.  In  the  memorial  conveying  this  remonstrance,  it  is  to 
be  remarked  that  Prince  William's  Sound  is  assumed  as  separating 
the  dominions  of  the  two  sovereigns  ;  it  being  doubtless  intended, 

*  The  preceding  account  of  this  voyage  is  derived  from  the  journal  of  Martinez, 
of  which  a  copy,  in  manuscript,  was  obtained  from  the  hydrographical  office  at 
Madrid. 

The  first  notice  of  this  expedition,  published  in  Europe,  was  taken  from  a  letter 
written  at  San  Bias,  soon  after  the  arrival  of  Haro  at  that  port,  in  which  it  was  said 
that  the  Spaniards  had  found  Russian  establishments  between  the  forty-ninth  and 
the  fiftieth  degrees  of  latitude,  instead  of  between  the  fifty-ninth  and  the  sixtieth  degrees , 
and  on  this  error,  such  as  is  daily  committed  by  persons  ignorant  »f  nautical  matters, 
M.  Poletica,  the  Russian  envoy  in  the  United  States,  endeavored,  in  1822,  to  found  n. 
claim  for  his  sovereign  to  the  whole  of  the  American  coasts  and  islands  on  the  Parifie 
north  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel.    See  hereafter,  chap.  xvi. 


1789.] 


CLAIMS   or   SPAIN  EXAMINED..  I 


by  means  of  this  geographical  obscurity,  to  leave  undefined  the  del- 
icate question  as  to  the  Umits  of  Spanish  America  in  the  north- 
west.  The  empress  of  Russia  answered  —  that  orders  had  been 
given  to  her  subjects  not  to  make  settlements  in  places  belonging 
to  other  nations ;  and,  if  those  orders  had  been  violated  with  regard 
to  Spanish  America,  she  desired  the  king  of  Spain  to  arrest  the  en- 
croachments, in  a  friendly  manner.  With  this  answer,  more  cour- 
teous than  specific,  the  Spanish  minister  professed  himself  content ; 
observing,  however,  in  his  reply,  that  Spain  "  could  not  be  respon- 
sible for  what  her  officers  might  do,  at  places  so  distant,  whilst  they 
were  acting  under  general  orders  to  allow  no  settlements  to  be 
made  by  other  nations  on  the  Spanish  American  continent."  * 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  Don  Manuel 
de  Flores,  had,  in  virtue  of  his  general  instructions,  taken  a  decisive 
measure  with  regard  to  Nootka  Sound.  For  that  purpose,  he  de- 
spatched Martinez  and  Haro  from  San  Bias,  early  in  1789,  with  their 
vessels  manned  and  equipped  effectively ;  ordering  them,  in  case  any 
British  or  Russian  vessel  should  appear  at  Nootka,  to  receive  her 
with  the  attention  and  civility  required  by  the  peace  and  friendship 
existing  between  Spain  and  those  nations,  but,  at  the  same  time, 
to  declare  the  paramount  rights  of  his  Catholic  majesty  to  the  place, 
and  the  adjacent  coasts,  firmly,  though  discreetly,  and  without  using 
harsh  or  insulting  language.f 

Before  entering  upon  the  narrative  of  the  events  which  followed, 
it  should  be  observed,  with  regard  to  the  right  of  the  Spanish  gov- 
ernment thus  to  take  possession  of  Nootka,  that,  before  the  6th  of 
May,  1789,  when  Martinez  entered  the  sound  with  that  object,  no 
settlement,  factory,  or  other  establishment  whatsoever,  had  been 
founded  or  attempted,  nor  had  any  jurisdiction  been  exercised 
by  the  authorities  or  subjects  of  a  civilized  nation,  in  any  part  of 
America  bordering  upon  the  Pacific,  between  Port  San  Francisco, 
near  the  38th  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  Prince  William's  Sound, 
near  the  60th.  The  Spaniards,  the  British,  the  Russians,  and  the 
French,  had,  indeed,  landed  at  many  places  on  those  coasts,  where 
they  had  displayed  flags,  performed  ceremonies,  and  erected  monu- 
ments, by  way  of  taking  possession  —  as  it  was  termed  —  of  the  ad- 


*  Memorial  addressed  by  the  court  of  Spain  to  that  of  London,  dated  June  13th, 
1790,  among  the  Proofs  and  Tllustrations,  in  tho  latter  part  of  this  volume,  under  the 
letter  D,  No.  3. 

t  Abstract  of  these  instructions  to  Martinez,  in  the  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of 
Galiano  and  Valdes,  p.  106. 


188 


RIGHTS   DERIVED   VROM  DISCOVERT. 


[1789. 


jacent  territories  for  their  respective  sovereigns ;  but  such  acts  are, 
and  were  then,  generally  considered  as  empty  pageants,  securing 
no  real  rights  to  those  by  whom,  or  in  whose  names,  they  were  per- 
formed. Nor  does  it  appear  that  any  portion  of  the  above-men- 
tioned territories  had  become  the  property  of  a  foreigner,  either  by 
purchase,  occupation,  or  any  other  title,  which  can  be  regarded  as 
valid.  It  has  been  already  said  that  Mr.  Meares,  in  his  Memorial, 
addressed  to  the  British  Parliament,  in  1790,  laiu  claim  to  certain 
tracts  of  land  about  Nootka  Sound,  as  having  been  ceded  to  him  by 
the  natives  of  the  country,  in  1788 ;  but  it  was,  at  the  same  time, 
shown  that  this  claim  was  unsupported  by  sufficient  evidence,  and 
was,  moreover,  directly,  as  well  as  indirectly,  contradicted  by  Mr. 
Meares  himself,  in  his  journal  of  the  same  proceedings :  and  other 
circumstances  will  be  mentioned  hereafter,  serving  to  prove  the 
falsehood  of  that  person's  assertions,  and  of  his  pretensions  to  the 
possession  of  any  part  of  the  American  territory. 

The  right  of  exclusive  sovereignty  over  these  extensive  regions 
was  claimed  by  Spain,  in  virtue  of  the  papal  concession,  1493,  of 
the  first  discovery  of  their  coasts  by  Spanish  subjects,  and  of  the 
contiguity  of  the  territories  to  the  settled  dominions  of  Spain.  Of 
the  validity  of  the  title  derived  from  the  papal  concession  it  appears 
to  be  needless,  at  the  present  day,  to  speak.  That  the  Spaniards 
were  the  first  discoverers  of  the  west  coasts  of  America,  at  least  as 
far  north  as  the  56th  parallel  of  latitude,  has  been  already  shown ; 
and  the  fact  is,  and  has  been  ever  since  the  publication  of  Maurelle's 
Journal,  in  1781,  as  indisputable  as  that  the  Portuguese  discovered 
the  south  coasts  of  Africa.  The  extent  of  the  rights  derived  from 
discovery  are,  however,  by  no  means  clearly  defined  by  writers  on 
public  law ;  and  the  practice  of  nations  has  been  so  difieretit  in  dif- 
ferent cases,  that  it  seems  impossible  to  deduce  any  general  rule  of 
action  from  it.  That  a  nation  whose  subjects  or  citizens  had  as- 
certained the  existence  of  a  country  previously  unknown,  should 
have  a  better  right  than  any  other  to  make  settlements  in  that  coun- 
try, and,  after  such  settlement,  to  own  it,  and  to  exercise  sovereignty 
over  it,  is  in  every  respect  conformable  with  nature  and  justice ;  but 
this  principle  is  liable  to  innumerable  difficulties  in  its  application  to 
particular  cases.  It  is  seldom  easy  to  decide  how  far  a  discovery 
may  have  been  such,  in  all  respects,  as  should  give  this  strongest 
right  to  settle,  or  to  what  extent  of  country  a  title  of  sovereignty 
may  have  been  acquired  by  a  particular  settlement :  and  even-  where 
the  novelty  or  priority  and  sufficiency  of  the  discovery  are  admit- 


1789.] 


NEW  EXPEDITION  FROM  MACAO. 


189 


ted,  the  tight  to  occupy  thus  derived  cannot  surely  te  regarded  as 
subsisting  forever,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  nations ;  and  the 
claims  of  states  already  occupying  contiguous  territories  are  always 
to  be  taken  into  consideration. 

Agreeably  to  these  views,  it  could  not  with  justice  be  assumed 
that  Spain,  from  the  mere  fact  of  the  first  discovery  of  the  north- 
west coasts  of  America  by  her  subjects,  acquired  the  right  to 
exclude  all  other  nations  from  them  forever ;  but  it  would  be  most 
unjust  to  deny  that  her  right  to  occupy  those  vacant  territories, 
contiguous  as  they  were  to  her  settled  dominions,  even  if  they  had 
not  been  first  discovered  by  her  subjects,  was  much  stronger  than 
that  of  any  other  nation.  Thus  the  occupation,  and  even  the 
exploration,  of  any  part  of  the  north-west  coasts  by  another  power, 
might  have  been  reasonably  considered  by  Spain  as  an  unfriendly, 
if  not  as  an  offensive,  act ;  while  she  might,  on  the  contrary,  have 
extended  her  establishments  at  least  as  far  north  as  the  56th  parallel, 
and  have  claimed  the  exclusive  right  to  occupy  all  the  coasts  south 
of  her  most  northern  establishment,  without  giving  just  cause  of 
dissatisfaction  to  any  other  power.  The  right  to  ocavpy  must  be 
here  distinguished  from  the  right  of  sovereignty ;  as  no  nation  could 
be  justified,  by  virtue  of  the  former  right,  and  without  occupation 
or  the  performance  of  acts  indicating  an  intention  soon  to  occupy, 
in  depriving  others  of  the  trade  of  extensive  vacant  sea-coasts,  un- 
less upon  the  ground  that  the  exercise  of  such  trade  would  be 
injurious  to  its  actual  interests  in  those  countries. 

Resuming  the  narrative  of  events  in  the  North  Pacific  —  It  has 
been  mentioned,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  that  Meares  sailed  in  the 
Felice  from  Nootka  Sound  to  China,  in  the  end  of  September, 
1789.  On  reaching  Macao,  in  December  following,  he  learned  that 
during  his  absence,  Juan  Cavallo,  the  Portuguese  merchant,  whose 
name  appeared  on  the  papers  of  the  Felice  and  Iphigenia  as  their 
owner,  had  become  a  bankrupt.  What  steps  were  taken  immediate- 
ly, in  consequence  of  this  event,  is  not  related ;  but  an  arrangement 
was  soon  after  made  between  the  anonymous  merchant  proprietors 
and  Mr.  Etches,  the  agent  of  the  King  George's  Sound  Company, 
who  was  then  at  Macao,  with  the  ship  Prince  of  Wales  and  sloop 
Princess  Royal,  for  a  union  of  the  interests  of  the  two  parties. 
Agreeably  to  this  arrangement,  the  Felice  was  sold,  and  the  Prince 
of  Wales  returned  to  England  ;  and  a  ship  called  the  Argonaut  was 
purchased,  in  which  Colnett,  a  lieutenant  in  the  British  navy,  previ- 
ously commanding  the  Princess  Royal,  was  despatched,  in  April, 


1 


in»W   BXFBOITION  VROM  MACAO. 


[1789. 


1739,  to  Nootka,  as  captain,  and  agent  for  the  prq)rietors  on  the 
American  coaat,  accompanied  by  the  Princess  Royal,  under  Captain 
William  Hudson,      i  ^ 

The  management  of  the  aflfairs  of  the  association  at  Macao  ai>- 
pears  to  have  been  committed  entirely  to  Meares,  who  drew  up  the 
instructions  for  Colnett.  From  these  instructions,  of  which  a  copy 
is  appended  by  Meares  to  his  Memorial,  it  is  evident  that  there  was 
really  an  intention  to  found  a  permanent  establishment  on  spme 
part  of  the  dorth-west  coast  of  America,  although  no  spot  is  desig- 
nated as  its  site,  and  no  hint  is  given  of  any  acquisition  of  territory 
having  been  already  made  at  or  near  Nootka  Sound.  Indeed,  the 
only  reference  to  that  place,  in  the  whole  paper,  is  contained  in  the 
words,  "  We  recommend  you,  if  possible,  to  form  a  treaty  with  the 
various  chiefs,  particularly  at  Nootka."  Yet  Meares,  in  his  Memo- 
rial, strangely  enough  says,  ''  Mr.  Colnett  was  directed  to  fix  his 
residence  at  Nootka  Sound,  and,  with  that  view,  to  erect  a  substan- 
tial house  on  the  spot  which  your  memorialist  li;id  purchased  in  the 
preceding  year,  as  will  appear  by  a  copy  of  his  instructions  hereunto 
annexed."  The  Argonaut  and  Princess  Royal  were,  moreover, 
certainly  navigated  under  the  British  flag ;  there  being  no  object  in 
using  any  other,  as  they  were  both  provided  with  licenses  from  the 
East  India  and  the  South  Sea  Companies,  which  aflbrded  them  the 
requisite  authorization.'"' 

Whilst  these  vessels  were  on  their  way  tq  Nootka  Sound,  their 
first  place  of  destination  on  the  coast,  the  brig  Iphigenia,  and 
schooner  North- West  America,  belonging  to  the  same  association, 
though  under  Portuguese  colors,  arrived  in  that  bay  from  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  where  they  had  passed  the  winter,  agreeably  to 
the  instructions  of  Mr.  Meares.  They  entered  the  sound  on  the 
20th  of  April,  in  the  most  wretched  condition  imaginable.  The 
Iphigenia  was  a  mere  wreck ;  according  to  the  journal  of  Douglas, 
her  supercargo  or  captain,  annexed  to  the  Memorial  of  Meares, 


•  The  following  account  of  the  occurrences  at  Nootka  in  the  summer  of  1789  is 
taken  from  —  the  journal  or  narrative  of  the  voyage  of  Meares,  and  the  documents 
attached  to  it,  consisting  of  his  Memorial  to  Parliament,  and  papers  in  proof,  among 
which  is  especially  worthy  of  notice  the  journal  of  Douglas,  the  captain  or  supercargo 
of  the  Iphigenia  —  the  journal  of  Colnett's  voyage,  in  1703,  in  which  some  of  those 
circumstancps  are  related  in  a  note,  at  page  !)G  —  the  journal  of  Vancouver's  voyage 
in  17S2  —  the  letter  addressed  by  tiie  American  Captains  Gray  and  Ingraham  to  the 
Spanish  conmiandant  at  Nootka,  in  17!)2,  which  will  be  found  at  length  among  the 
Proofs  and  Ilhistrations,  at  the  end  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  C— rand  the 
memorials  and  other  papers  relative  to  the  dispute  which  ensued  between  Great 
Britain,  in  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  under  the  letter  D. 


1789.] 


MKaxnoE  or  the  iPHtoftKik. 


m 


"  she  had  like  to  have  foundered  at  sea,  for  want  of  pitch  fiind  tar 
to  stop  the  leaks ;  she  had  no  bread  on  board,  and  nothing  but  salt 
pork  for  her  crew  to  live  on ;  she  was  without  cables,"  and,  on 
attempting  to  moor  her  in  the  harbor,  it  was  necessary  to  "  borrow 
a  fall  from  the  American  sloop  Washington,"  which,  with  the  ship 
Columbia,  was  found  lying  there.  The  North- West  America  was 
in  no  better  condition ;  and,  as  they  had  no  articles  for  barter  with 
the  natives,  they  must  have  remained  inactive  for  some  time,  had 
they  not  procured  some  assistance  and  supplies  from  the  American 
vessels,  by  means  of  which  the  schooner  was  enabled  to  leave  the 
sound  on  the  28th  of  the  month,  for  a  short  trading  trip  along  the 
coasts.  The  Washington,  about  the  same  time,  also  departed  on  a 
similar  expedition ;  and  the  Iphigenia,  lying  at  Friendly  Cove,  and 
the  Columbia,  at  Mawhinna,  a  few  miles  higher  up,  were  the  only 
vessels  in  Nootka  Sound  on  the  6th  of  May,  when  the  Spanish 
commander  Martinez  arrived  there  in  the  corvette  Princesa,  to  take 
possession  of  the  country  for  his  sovereign. 

Martinez  immediately  communicated  his  intentions  to  the  captains 
of  the  other  vessels,  whose  papers  he  also  examined ;  and,  appear- 
ing to  be  content,  he  landed  materials  and  artillery,  and  began  to 
erect  a  fort  on  a  small  island  at  the  entrance  of  Friendly  Cove. 
With  this  assumption  of  authority  on  his  part,  no  dissatisfaction 
appears  to  have  been  expressed  or  entertained  by  either  of  the  other 
parties;  on  the  contrary,  the  utmost  good  feeling  for  some  time 
prevailed  on  all  sides ;  the  officers  of  the  different  vessels  visited 
and  dined  with  each  other,  and  Martinez  readily  supplied  the 
Iphigenia  with  articles  of  which  she  was  in  need,  in  order  to  go  to 
sea  immediately,  accepting,  in  return  for  them,  bills  drawn  by  her 
Portuguese  captain,  Viana,  upon  Juan  Cavallo,  the  Portuguese 
merchant  of  Macao,  as  her  owner. 

Things  remained  thus  at  Nootka  for  a  week,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  the  other  Spanish  vessel,  the  San  Carlos,  arrived,  under 
Captain  Haro.  On  the  following  day,  the  15th  of  May,  Martinez 
invited  Viana  and  Douglas  to  come  on  board  his  ship;  and,  on 
their  doing  so,  he  immediately  told  them  that  they  were  prisoners, 
and  their  vessel  was  to  be  seized.  "  I  inquired,"  says  Douglas,  in 
his  journal,  "  the  cause  of  his  not  taking  the  Washington  sloop,  as  he 
had  orders  from  the  king  of  Spain  to  take  every  vessel  he  met  out 
on  this  coast.  He  gave  me  no  satisfactory  answer,  but  told  me  my 
papers  were  bad ;  that  they  mentioned  I  was  to  take  all  English, 
Russian,  and  Spanish  vessels  that  were  of  inferior  force  to  the 


'■[ 


.  I 


M 


'^ 


^d^ 


192 


THE    IPHIOXNIA  RELEASE])   BT  MARTINEZ. 


[1789. 


Iphigenia,  and  send  or  carry  their  crews  to  Macao,  there  to  be  tried 
for  their  lives  as  pirates.  I  told  him  they  had  not  interpreted  the 
papers  right ;  that,  though  I  did  not  understand  the  Portuguese,  I 
had  seen  a  copy  of  them  in  English,  at  Macao,  which  mentioned,  if 
I  was  attacked  by  any  one  of  those  nations,  to  defend  myself,  and, 
if  I  had  the  superiority,  to  send  the  captains  and  crews  to  Macao, 
to  answer  for  the  insult  they  had  offered."  Martinez,  however, 
was  not,  or  did  not  choose  to  be,  content  with  this  explanation, 
which  certainly  did  not  place  the  Iphigenia  and  her  owners  in  a 
position  conformable  with  the  usages  of  civilized  nations ;  and,  in 
obedience  to  his  orders,  that  brig  was  boarded  by  the  Spaniards,  her 
men,  with  her  charts,  papers,  and  instruments,  were  transferred  to 
the  ships  of  war,  and  preparations  were  begun  for  sending  her,  as  a 
prize,  to  San  Bias. 

Whilst  these  preparations  were  in  progress,  the  Spanish  com- 
mandant altered  his  intentions,  and  proposed  to  release  the  Iphigenia 
and  her  crew,  on  condition  that  her  officers  would  sign  a  declaration 
to  the  effect  that  she  had  not  been  interrupted,  but  had  been  kindly 
treated  and  supplied  by  him  during  her  stay  at  Nootka.  This 
proposition  was  at  first  refused;  an  arrangement  was,  however, 
afterwards  made  between  the  parties,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
declaration  was  signed  by  the  officers  of  the  Iphigenia,  and  she  and 
her  crew  were  liberated  on  the  26th  of  May.  Messrs.  Viana  and 
Douglas  at  the  same  time  engaged  for  themselves,  as  "  captain  and 
supercargo  respectively,  and  for  Juan  Cavallo,  of  Macao,  as  oumer 
of  the  said  vessel,^^  to  pay  her  value,  on  demand,  to  the  order  of  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  in  case  he  should  pronounce  her  capture  legal. 

This  seizure  of  the  Iphigenia  by  Martinez  can  scarcely  be  con- 
sidered unjust  or  unmerited,  when  it  is  recollected  that,  if,  in 
attempting  to  enforce,  with  regard  to  her,  the  orders  of  his  govern- 
ment,— which  were  perfectly  conformable  with  the  principles  of 
national  law  as  then  recognized,  and  with  treaties  between  Spain 
and  the  other  powers,  —  he  had  been  resisted  and  overcome,  he, 
with  his  officers  and  men,  would  have  been  carried  to  Macao  as 
prisoners,  to  be  tried  in  Portuguese  courts  for  piracy.  Moreover, 
he  had  been  informed  that  Meares  was  daily  expected  to  arrive  at 
Nootka,  with  other  vessels  belonging  to  the  same  concern  ;  and  it 
was  his  duty  to  provide  against  the  probability  of  being  overpowered 
or  insulted,  by  lessening  the  forces  of  those  from  whom  he  had 
every  reason  to  apprehend  an  attack.  He  was,  indeed,  specially 
enjoined,  by  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  to  treat  English  and  Russian 


1789.1 


THE    IPHIGENIA    RETURNS   TO   CHINA. 


193 


i 


m 
ern- 
of 
pain 
he, 
0  as 
)ver, 
at 
it 
ered 
had 
ially 
sian 


vesBels  with  respect ;  but  the  contingency  of  his  meeting  with  a 
Portuguese  vessel  at  Nootka,  furnished  with  such  instructions  as 
those  carried  by  the  Iphigenia,  could  not  have  been  foreseen ;  and 
the  only  grounds  upon  which  he  could  have  excused  himself  to  his 
government  for  releasing  her,  even  under  the  pledge  given  by 
her  ofTiccrs,  must  have  been,  that,  at  the  time  when  those  instruc- 
tions wore  written,  it  was  not  anticipated,  by  her  proprietors,  that 
Spain  would  take  possession  of  any  place  on  the  north-west  coast 
of  America. 

That  the  detention  of  the  Iphigenia  by  the  Spaniards  was  not 
injurious  to  the  interests  of  her  owners,  is  clearly  proved.  The 
distressed  condition  in  which  she  reached  Nootka  has  been  already 
shown  from  the  accounts  of  her  officers;  and  she  must  have 
remained  ot  that  place,  unemployed,  during  the  greater  and  better 
part  of  the  trading  season,  had  she  not  been  refitted  and  supplied 
as  she  was  by  the  Spaniards.  According  to  the  narrative  of  Meares, 
she  sailed  from  the  sound  on  the  1st  of  June,  to  the  coasts  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island,  where  she  collected  a  number  of  valuable  furs 
in  a  few  weeks :  the  trade  was  "  so  brisk,"  writes  Meares,  "  that 
all  the  stock  of  iron  was  soon  eocpended,  and  they  were  under  the 
necessity  of  cutting  up  the  chain  plates  and  hatch-bars  of  the  vessel," 
in  order  to  find  the  means  of  purchasing  the  skins  offered ;  thence 
she  departed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and,  after  a  short  stay  there, 
continued  her  voyage  to  Macao,  where  she  arrived  in  October,  with 
about  seven  hundred  sea  otter  skins,  all  collected  since  leaving  Nootka 
Sound.  Mr.  Meares,  in  his  Memorial,  however,  presents  a  very 
different  picture  of  these  circumstances :  he  there  says,  "  During 
the  time  the  Spaniards  held  possession  ot  the  Iphigenia,  she  was 
stripped  of  all  the  merchandise  which  had  been  prepared  for  trading, 
as  also  of  her  stores,  provisions,  nautical  instruments,  charts,  &c., 
and,  in  short,  of  every  article,  except  twelve  bars  of  iron,  which  they 
could  conveniently  carry  away,  even  to  the  extent  of  the  master's 
watch,  and  articles  of  clothing;"  he  then  goes  on  to  state  that, 
"  on  leaving  Nootka  Sound,  the  Iphigenia,  though  in  a  very  unfit 
condition  for  such  a  voyage,  proceeded  from  thence  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  and,  after  obtaining  there  such  supplies  as  they  were 
enabled  to  purchase  %vith  the  iron  before  mentioned,  returned  to 
China,  ond  anchored  there  in  the  month  of  October,  1789  "  —  thus 
omitting  all  notice  of  the  trip  to  the  northern  coasts,  and  of  the 
brisk  trade  with  the  natives,  in  which  the  whole  stock  of  iron 
25 


fi 


194 


SEIZUBE    or    THE    NORTH-WEST    AMERICA. 


[1789. 


(including,  of  course,  the  twelve  bars  before  mentioned)  was  ex- 
changed for  furs. 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  Iphigenia,  it  may  be  added,  in  evi- 
dence of  her  true  character,  that  Douglas  quitted  her  immediately 
on  her  arrival  in  China ;  after  which  she  continued  to  trade  under 
the  command  of  Viana,  and  under  the  flag  of  Portugal. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  after  the  departure  of  the  Iphigenia,  the 
schooner  Nprth-West  America  returned  from  her  voyage  along  the 
southern  coasts,  in  which  she  had  collected  about  two  hundred  sea 
otter  skins,  and  was  immediately  seized  by  Martinez,  in  consequence, 
as  he  at  first  said,  of  an  agreement  to  that  effect  between  himself 
and  the  captain  of  the  Iphigenia.     This  agreement  is  expressly  de- 
nied by  Douglas,  who  declares  that  both  promises  and  threats  had 
been  used  in  vain  to  induce  him  to  sell  the  small  vessel  at  a  price 
far  below  her  real  value ;  and,  in  proof,  he  cites  a  letter  given  by 
him  to  Martinez,  addressed  to  the  captain  of  the  North- West  Amer- 
ica, in  which  he  merely  tells  the  latter  to  act  as  he  may  think  best 
for  the  interest  of  the  owners.     Meares,  in  his  Memorial,  however, 
admits  that  the  letter  did  not  contain  what  Martinez  understood  to  be 
its  purport  when  he  received  it,  and  that  advantage  had  been  taken 
by  Douglas  of  the  Spaniard's  ignorance  of  the  English  language ; 
from  which  circumstances  it  is  most  probable  that  the  agreement, 
whether  voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  captain  of  the  Iphigenia,  or 
unjustly  extorted  from  him,  was  actually  made  as  asserted  by  Marti- 
nez.    A  (ew  days  afterwards,  the  sloop  Princess  Royal,  one  of  the 
vessels  sent  from  Macao  by  the  associated  companies,  entered  the 
sound  under  the  command  of  William  Hudson,  bringing  infor- 
mation of  the  failure  of  Cavallo,  the  Portuguese  merchant,  upon 
whom,  as  owner  of  the  Iphigenia,  the  bills  in  payment  for  the  sup- 
plies furnished  to  that  vessel,  were  drawn.     Upon  learning  this, 
Martinez  announced   his  determination  to  hold  the   North- West 
America  in  satisfaction  for  the  amount  of  those  bills:   she  was 
thereupon  immediately  equipped  for  a  trading  voyage,  and  sent  out 
under  the  command  of  one  of  the  mates  of  the  Columbia ;  but  her 
officers  and  men  were  at  the  same  time  liberated,  and  nearly  all  the 
skins  collected  by  her  were  placed  on  board  the  Princess  Royal,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  owners  in  China. 

The  Princess  Royal  remained  at  Nootka  until  the  2d  of  July, 
during  which  period  she  was  undisturbed,  and  her  officers  and 
men  were  treated  with  perfect  civility  and  respect  by  the  Span- 


1789.] 


SEIZURE    or    THE    ARGONAUT    AT    NOOTKA. 


195 


iards.  As  she  was  leaving  the  sound  on  that  day,  her  consort,  the 
ship  Argonaut,  came  in  from  Macao,  under  Captain  Colnett,  who,  as 
already  mentioned,  had  been  charged  by  the  associated  companies 
with  the  direction  of  their  affairs  on  the  American  coasts,  and  the 
establishment  of  a  factory  and  fort  for  their  benefit.  What  followed 
with  regard  to  this  ship  has  been  represented  under  various  colors ; 
but  the  principal  facts,  as  generally  admitted,  were  these :  — 

As  soon  as  the  Argonaut  appeared  at  the  entrance  of  the  sound, 
she  was  boarded  by  Martinez,  who  presented  to  Colnett  a  letter 
from  the  captain  of  the  Princess  Royal,  and  pressed  him  earnestly 
to  enter  the  sound,  and  supply  the  Spanish  vessels  with  some  arti- 
cles of  which  they  were  much  in  want.  Several  of  the  officers  of 
the  North- West  America  and  the  Columbia  also  came  on  board  the 
Argonaut,  and  communicated  what  had  occurred  respecting  the 
Iphigenia  and  the  small  vessel  to  Colnett,  who,  in  consequence,  hes- 
itated as  to  entering  the  sound  ;  but  he  was  finally  induced,  by  the 
assurances  of  Martinez,  to  do  so,  and  before  midnight  his  ship 
was  anchored  in  Friendly  Cove,  between  the  Princesa  and  the  San 
Carlos. 

On  the  following  day,  Colnett,  having  supplied  the  Spanish  ships 
with  some  articles,  was  preparing,  as  he  states,  to  leave  the  sound, 
when  he  received  an  invitation  to  go  on  board  the  commandant's 
ship  and  exhibit  his  papers.  He  accordingly  went,  in  uniform,  and 
with  his  sword  by  his  side,  into  the  cabin  of  the  Princesa,  where  he 
displayed  his  papers,  and  informed  Martinez  of  his  intention  to  take 
possession  of  Nootka,  and  erect  a  fort  there  under  the  British  flag. 
The  commandant  replied,  that  this  could  not  be  done,  as  the  place 
was  already  occupied  by  the  forces  and  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic 
majesty ;  and  an  altercation  ensued,  the  results  of  which  were  the 
arrest  and  confinement  of  Colnett,  and  the  seizure  of  the  Argonaut 
by  the  Spaniards.  From  the  moment  of  his  arrest,  Colnett  became 
insane  or  delirious,  and  continued  in  this  state  for  several  weeks, 
during  which  Duffin,  the  mate  of  his  vessel,  acted  as  the  representa- 
tive of  the  proprietors :  in  the  mean  time,  her  cargo  had  been  all 
placed  on  board  the  Spanish  ships  of  war ;  and,  on  the  13th  of 
July,  she  sailed,  with  her  officers  and  nearly  the  whole  of  her  crew  as 
prisoners,  under  the  command  of  a  Spanish  lieutenant,  for  San  Bias. 

If  the  accounts  of  these  transactions,  presented  by  Meares  in  his 
Memorial,  and  by  Colnett  in  the  narrative  which  he  afterwards 
published,  be  admitted  as  conveying  a  full  and  correct  view  of  the 


?  1 


196 


SEIZURE    OF    THE    ARGONAUT    AT    NOOTKA. 


[1789. 


circumstances,  the  conduct  of  Martinez  must  be  considered  as  nearly 
equivalent  to  piracy.  From  these  accounts  it  would  appear  that  the 
ship  was  treacherously  seized,  without  any  reasonable  ground,  or 
even  pretext,  and  with  the  sole  premeditated  object  of  plundering 
jier ;  and  that  the  most  cruel  acts  of  violence,  insult,  and  restraint, 
were  wantonly  committed  upon  the  officers  and  men  during  the 
whole  period  of  their  imprisonment.  Colnett  relates  ^  —  that,  when 
he  presented  his  papers  to  Martinez  in  the  cabin  of  the  Princesa, 
the  commandant,  without  examining  them,  pronounced  them  to  be 
forged,  and  immediately  declared  that  the  Argonaut  should  not  go 
to  sea  —  that,  upon  his  '*  remonstrating  [in  what  terms  he  does  not 
say]  against  this  breach  of  good  faith,  and  fcrgetfulness  of  word 
and  honor  pledged,"  the  Spania'd  rose,  in  apparent  anger,  and 
introduced  a  party  of  armed  men,  by  whom  he  was  struck  down, 
placed  in  the  stocks,  and  then  closely  confined  —  that  he  was  after- 
wards carried  from  ship  to  ship  like  a  criminal,  threatened  with 
instant  execution  as  a  pirate,  and  subjected  to  so  many  injuries  and 
indignities  as  to  throw  him  into  a  violent  fever  and  delirium,  which 
were  near  proving  fatal  —  and  that  his  officers  and  men  were  impris- 
oned and  kept  in  irons  from  the  time  of  their  seizure  until  their 
arrival  at  San  Bias,  where  many  of  them  died  in  consequence  of  ill 
treatment.  Meares,  in  his  Memorial,  makes  the  same  assertions, 
many  of  which  are  supported  by  the  deposition  of  the  officers  and 
seamen  of  the  North- West  America,  taken  in  China,  and  appended 
to  the  Memorial.  On  the  other  hand.  Gray,  the  capt  tin  of  the 
Washington,  and  Ingraham,  the  mate  of  the  Columbia,  both  of 
whom  were  at  Nootka  during  the  occurrence  of  the  affair,  "  were 
informed  by  those  whose  veracity  they  had  no  reason  to  doubt,"  f 
that  Colnett,  in  his  interview  with  Martinez  on  board  the  Princesa, 
denied  the  right  of  the  Spaniards  to  occupy  Nootka,  and  endeav- 
ored to  impose  upon  the  Spanish  commandant,  by  representing 
himself  as  acting  under  direct  orders  from  the  British  government ; 
and  that  he  afterwards  insulted  the  Spaniard  by  threatening  him 
and  drawing  his  sword.  Colnett  himself  says  that  he  attempted  to 
draw  his  sword  on  the  occasion,  but  that  it  was  in  defence  against 
those  who  assailed  him ;  and  it  must  be  allowed  to  be  very  difficult  to 
"  remonstrate  "  with  a  man  upon  "  his  breach  of  faith,  and  forgetful- 


*  Account  of  his  Voyage  in  the  Pacific  in  1793,  note  at  p.  96;  also  Vancouver's 
Journal,  vol.  iii.  p.  492.    These  two  accounts  differ  in  some  points, 
t  Letter  of  Gray  and  Ingraham,  in  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  letter  C. 


1789.] 


SRIZURE    or   THE    AROONAUT. 


nesB  of  his  word  and  honor  pledged"  without  insulting  him.  DufRii, 
the  mate  of  the  Argonaut,  writing  to  Meares  from  Nootka,  ten  days 
after  the  seizure  of  the  ship,  gives  nearly  the  same  account  of  the 
interview,  adding  that  the  misunderstanding  was  probably  occa- 
sioned by  the  interpreter's  ignorance  of  the  English  language :  he 
says  that  Martinez  appeared  to  bo  very  sorry  for  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  had  "  behaved  with  great  civility,  by  obliging  his  pris- 
oners with  every  liberty  that  could  be  expected ; "  and  he  com- 
plains of  no  violence,  either  to  the  feelings  or  to  the  persons  of  any 
of  the  crews  of  the  vessels  seized,  although  he  charges  the  Span- 
iards with  plundering  both  openly  and  secretly.  Moreover,  DufHn 
declares,  and  Meares  repeats,  in  his  Memorial,  that  the  disease  with 
which  Colnctt  was  afflicted  after  his  arrest  was  a  fit  of  insanity,  oc- 
casioned by  fear  and  disappointment  operating  upon  a  mind  natu- 
rally weak  and  hereditarily  predisposed  to  such  alienation. 

On  the  part  of  Spain,  the  only  statements  which  have  been  pub- 
licly made  are  those  contained  in  the  notes  and  memorials  ad- 
dressed by  the  court  of  Madrid  to  other  governments  in  1790 ;  and 
in  the  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes  —  all  of 
which,  though  officially  presented,  are  nevertheless  imperfect  and 
evidently  erroneous  on  sevferal  important  points.* 

Upon  reviewing  the  circumstances  of  the  affair,  there  appears 
to  be  no  reason  to  doubt  that  Colnett  entered  the  sound,  relying  on 
the  assurances  .of  Martinez,  that  he  should  be  undisturbed  while 


*  These  notes  and  memorials,  which  will  be  mentioned  more  particularly  hereafter, 
may  be  found  in  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  under  the  letter  D.  All  that  is  said 
in  the  Introduction  to  the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes  respecting  the  dispute,  or 
the  circumstances  which  led  to  it,  is  contained  in  the  paragraph  of  which  the 
following  is  a  translation :  — 

"  On  the  2d  of  July,  the  English  ship  Argonaut,  which  had  been  sent  by  an  Eng- 
lish company  from  Macao,  entered  the  port.  Her  captain,  James  Colnett,  came,  with 
authority  from  the  king  of  England,  to  take  possession  of  the  port  of  Nootka,  to  for- 
tify it,  and  to  establish  there  a  factory  for  the  collection  of  sea  otter  skins,  and  to 
prevent  other  nations  from  engaging  in  this  trade,  with  which  objects  he  was  to  build 
a  large  ship  and  a  schooner.  This  manifest  infraction  of  the  rights  over  that  region 
led  to  a  serious  quarrel  between  the  Spanish  commandant  and  the  English  captain, 
which  extended  to  Europe ;  and,  the  two  powers  being  alarmed,  the  world  was  for 
some  time  threatened  with  war  and  devastation,  the  results  of  discord.  Captain  Col- 
nett refused,  repeatedly  and  obstinately,  to  exhibit  to  Martinez  the  instructions  which 
he  brought ;  and  he  expressed  himself  in  language  so  indecorous  and  irritating,  that 
our  commandant,  having  exhausted  all  the  measures  of  prudence  which  he  had  hith- 
erto  employed,  resolved  to  arrest  the  British  captain  in  the  cabin  of  his  ship,  and  to 
declare  all  the  persons  on  board  the  Argonaut  prisoners  of  war,  and  to  send  them  to 
San  Bias,  to  be  there  placed  at  the  disposition  of  the  viceroy  of  Mexico." 


I 


198 


SEIZURE    or   THE    PRINCESS    ROTAL. 


[1789. 


there,  and  be  allowed  to  depart  at  his  pleasure ;  and  it  seems  to  be 
equally  certain  that  the  English  captain  did  afterwards  conduct 
himself  with  so  much  violence  and  extravagance  towards  the  Span- 
ish commandant,  as  to  render  his  own  orrcst  perfectly  justifiable. 
The  seizure  of  the  Argonaut,  the  imprisonment  of  her  other  officers 
and  crew,  and  the  spoliation  of  her  cargo,  cannot,  however,  be 
defended  on  those  or  on  any  grounds  afforded  by  the  evidence  of  any 
of  the  parties ;  for  Martinez  had  no  reason  to  apprehend  an  attack 
from  the  Argonaut,  and  he  had  been  specially  instructed,  by  his 
immediate  superior,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico,  to  suspend,  with  regard 
to  British  vessels  on  the  north-west  coasts,  the  execution  of  the 
general  orders  to  Spanish  commandants,  for  the  seizure  of  foreign 
vessels  entering  the  ports  of  the  American  dominions. 

Still  less  excusable  was  the  conduct  of  Martinez  towards  the  sloop 
Princess  Royal,  on  her  second  arrival  at  Nootka.  She  appeared  at 
the  entrance  of  the  sound  on  the  13th  of  July,  having  made  a  short 
trading  cruise  along  the  northern  coasts ;  and  her  captain,  Hudson, 
on  coming  up  to  Friendly  Cove  in  a  boat,  was  arrested,  after  which 
his  vessel  was  boarded  and  brought  in  as  a  prize  by  a  party  of 
Spaniards  despatched  for  the  purpose.  On  the  following  day,  the 
majority  of  her  crew  were  transferred*  to  the  Argonaut,  which 
carried  them  as  prisoners  to  San  Bias ;  her  cargo  was  then  taken 
out,  and  she  was  herself  afterwards  employed  for  nearly  two  years 
in  the  Spanish  service,  under  Lieutenant  Quimper. 

The  schooner  North- West  America  was  also  retained  in  the 
national  service  of  Spain ;  her  officers  and  men,  with  some  of 
those  of  the  Argonaut  and  Princess  Royal,  were,  however,  placed 
on  board  the  American  ship  Columbia,  to  be  carried  as  passengers 
to  China,  one  hundred  of  the  sea  otter  skins  found  in  the  Princess 
Royal  being  allowed  in  payment  of  their  wages  and  transportation. 
Martinez  remained  at  Nootka  until  November,  when  he  departed, 
with  his  three  vessels,  for  San  Bias,  agreeably  to  orders  received  by 
him  from  Mexico. 

The  Columbia  had  remained  in  the  sound  ever  since  her  first 
arrival  there,  in  October,  1788;  the  Washington  being,  in  the  mean 
time,  engaged  in  trading  along  the  coasts  north  and  south  of  that 
place,  to  which  she,  however,  frequently  returned,  in  order  to 
deposit  the  furs  collected.  The  officers  of  these  vessels  were  thus 
witnesses  of  nearly  all  the  occurrences  at  Nootka  during  the  summer 
of  1789,  in  which,  indeed,  they  frequently  took  part  as  mediators; 


1789.J 


CONDUCT    or   THE    AMKRICAMS    AT    NOOTKA. 


Mi 


the 


nnd  the  only  evidence,  with  regard  to  those  cvcnta,  except  the 
journal  of  Douglas,  which  cun  bear  the  test  of  strict  examination,  is 
contained  in  a  Irttt^r  addressed,  three  years  afterwards,  to  the 
Spanish  commandant  of  Nootka,  by  Gray,  the  captain  of  the 
Wusliington,  and  Ingruham,  the  mate  of  the  Columbia.*  Mcares 
and  Colnett  endeavor  to  cast  blame  on  the  Americans  for  their 
conduct  in  these  pr<  codings;  their  complaints,  however,  on  exam- 
ination, seem  to  rest  entirely  on  the  fact  that  the  Washington  and 
Columbia  were  undisturbed,  while  their  own  vessels  were  seized  by 
the  Spaniards.  That  Gray  and  Kendrick  profited  by  the  quarrels 
between  the  other  two  parties  is  probable,  and  no  one  can  question 
their  right  to  do  so ;  but  no  evidence  has  been  adduced  that  they,  on 
any  occasion,  took  an  unfair  advantage  of  either :  though  it  is  also 
probable  that  their  feelings  were  rather  in  favor  of  the  Spaniards, 
by  whom  they  were  always  treated  with  courtesy  and  kindness, 
than  of  the  British,  to  whom,  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  expressions 
of  Meares  and  Colnett,  they  were,  from  the  commencement,  the 
objects  of  hatred  and  ridicule. 

In  one  of  the  above-mentioned  trading  excursions  of  the  Wash- 
ington, made  in  June,  1789,  Gray  explored  the  whole  east  coast  of 
Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  which  had  never  before  been  visited  by 
the  people  of  any  civilized  nation,  though  Duncan,  in  the  Princess 
Royal,  had,  in  the  preceding  year,  sailed  through  the  sea  separating 
it  from  the  main  land  and  other  islands.  The  American,  being 
ignorant  of  this  fact,  as  also  of  the  name  bestowed  on  the  territory 
by  Dixon,  called  it  Washington's  Island;  and  thus  it  was,  for  a 
long  period,  always  distinguished  by  the  fur  traders  of  the  United 
States.  Meares  endeavors,  in  his  narrative,  to'  secure  to  Douglas, 
the  captain  of  the  Iphigenia,  the  merit  of  having  first  established 
the  insulation  of  the  territory;  though  Douglas,  in  his  journal 
annexed  to  that  narrative,  expressly  alludes  to  the  previous  visits 
of  the  Washington  to  many  places  on  the  east  coast.  The  assertion 
of  this  claim  for  Douglas  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  dispute 
between  Meares  and  Dixon,  in  1791,  which  will  be  hereafter  men- 
tioned more  particularly. 

In  a  subsequent  excursion  from  Nootka,  Gray  entered  the  opening 
south-east  of  that  place,  between  the  48th  and  49th  parallels  of 
latitude,  which  had  been  found  by  Berkely  in  1787,  and  was  sup- 
posed to  be  the  mouth  of  the  Strait  oS  Juan  de  Fuca.    Through 


f  1 


See  Proofs  and  IllustrationB,  under  the  letter  D. 


200 


RELEASE  OF  COLNETT. 


[1789. 


this  opening  Gray  sailed,  as  he  informed  Vancouver  in  1792,  "  fifty 
miles  in  an  east-south-east  direction,  and  found  the  passage  five 
leagues  wide."  He  then  returned  to  the  Pacific,  and,  on  his  way 
to  Nootka,  he  met  the  Columbia,  which  had  just  quitted  the  sound, 
with  the  crew  of  the  North- West  America  on  board  as  passengers, 
for  China ;  and  it  was  agreed  between  the  two  captains  that 
Kendrick  should  take  command  of  the  sloop,  and  remain  on  the 
coast,  while  Gray,  in  the  Columbia,  should  carry  to  Canton  all  the 
furs  which  had  been  collected  by  both  vessels.  This  was  according- 
ly done ;  and  Gray  arrived,  on  the  6th  of  December,  at  Canton, 
where  he  sold  his  furs,  and  took  in  a  cargo  of  tea,  with  which  he 
entered  Boston  on  the  10th  of  August,  1790,  having  carried  the  flag 
of  the  United  States  for  the  first  time  around  the  world.  Kendrick, 
immediately  on  parting  with  the  Columbia,  proceeded  in  the 
Washington  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  through  which  he  passed,  in  its 
whole  length,  as  will  be  hereafter  more  fully  shown. 

The  Argonaut,  with  Colnett  and  his  men  on  board  as  prisoners, 
arrived,  on  the  16th  of  August,  at  San  Bias,  near  which  place  they 
were  kept  prisoners  until  the  arrival  of  the  commandant  of  that 
department,  Captain  Bodega  y  duadra,  by  whom  Colnett  was 
treated  with  great  kindness,  and  soon  after  sent  to  the  city  of 
Mexico.  There  he  remained  several  months,  during  which  the 
examination  of  the  cases  of  the  seized  vessels  was  in  progress ;  and 
it  was  at  length  decided  —  that,  although  Martinez  had  acted  con- 
formably with  the  general  laws  and  regulations  of  Spain,  forbidding 
all  aliens  from  resorting  to  the  Spanish  American  coasts,  and  the 
vessels  might  therefore  be  retained  as  lawful  prizes,  yet,  in  con- 
sideration of  tlie  apparent  ignorance  of  their  officers  and  owners 
with  regard  to  the  laws  and  rights  of  Spain,  as  also  for  the  sake  of 
peace  with  England,  they  should  be  released,  with  the  understand- 
ing, however,  that  they  were  not  again  to  enter  any  place  on  the 
Spanish  American  coasts,  either  for  the  purpose  of  settlement  or 
of  trade  with  the  natives.  In  virtue  of  this  decision,  Colnett 
returned  to  San  Bias,  where  he  learned  that  several  of  his  men  had 
died  of  the  fever  endemic  at  that  place,  and  his  ship  was  much 
injured  by  the  service  to  which  she  had  been  subjected ;  she  was, 
nevertheless,  refitted,  and,  with  the  remainder  of  her  crew,  he 
sailed  in  her  for  Nootka,  to  receive  possession  of  the  Princess 
Royal,  for  which  he  had  an  order.  On  arriving  at  the  sound, 
Colnett  found  the  place  deserted ;  and,  not  knowing  where  to  seek 


It^l 


THB   PB1M0BS8  ttOTAL  RKSTORBD. 


swf 


the  sloop,  he  sailed  for  Macao,  which  he  reached  in  the  latter  part 
of  1790.  Thence  he  went,  in  the  following  year,  to  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  where  the  Princess  Royal  was  restored  to  him,  in  March, 
by  Lieutenant  Quimper,  the  Spanisn  officer  under  whose  command 
she  had  been  employed  for  nearly  two  yean. 

The  political  discussions  between  the  govemmenti  of  Great 
Britain  and  Spain,  which  had  meanwhile  taken  place,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  seizures  at  Nootka,  will  be  related  in  the  en- 
suing chapter. 

26 


SSmSSS&m 


f 


1802 


CHAPTER   IX. 


1790. 


Controveny  between  Oreat  Britain  and  Spain  respecting  the  Nortn-West  Coasts  of 
America  and  the  Navigation  of  the  Pacific  —  The  Owners  of  the  Vessels  seized 
at  Nootka  apply  for  Redress  to  the  British  Government,  which  demands  Satis- 
faction for  the  alleged  Outrages  —  Spain  resists  the  Demand,  and  calls  on  France 
for  Aid,  agreeably  to  the  Family  Compact  —  Proceedings  in  the  National  Assembly 
of  France  on  the  Subject — Spain  engages  to  indemnify  the  British  ibr  the 
Property  seized  —  Further  Demands  of  Great  Britain  —  Designs  of  Pitt  against 
Spanish  America — Secret  Mediation  of  France,  through  which  the  Dispute  is 
settled  —  Convention  of  October,  1790,  called  the  jYootka  Treaty  —  Proceedings 
in  Parliament,  and  Reflections  on  thu  Convention. 


The  Columbia  arrived  at  Macao  from  Nootka  in  December, 
1789,  bringing  as  passengei^  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  North- 
West  America,  who  communicated  the  news  of  the  capture  of  that 
vessel,  and  of  the  Argonaut  and  Princess  Royal,  by  the  Spaniards. 
The  owners  immediately  determined  to  apply  to  the  British  govern- 
ment for  redress ;  and  Meares  was  accordingly  despatched  to  Lon- 
don, where  he  arrived  in  April,  1790,  provided  with  depositions, 
and  other  documents,  in  substantiation  of  their  claims.  While  he 
was  on  his  way,  however,  the  circumstances  on  which  his  applica- 
tion was  to  be  founded  had  already  become  the  subject  of  a  serious 
discussion  between  the  courts  of  London  and  Madrid. 

On  the  10th  of  February,  1790,  the  Spanish  ambassador  at 
London  presented  to  the  British  ministry  a  note,  in  which,  after 
communicating  the  fact  of  the  seizure  of  a  British  vessel  (the 
Argonaut)  at  Nootka,  he  required,  in  the  name  of  his  government, 
that  the  parties  who  had  planned  the  expedition  should  be  punished, 
in  order  to  deter  other  persons  from  making  settlements  on  territo- 
ries long  occupied  and  frequented  by  the  Spaniards ;  and  he  at  the 
same  time  complained  of  the  trade  and  fishery,  by  British  subjects, 
in  the  seas  adjoining  the  Spanish  American  continent  on  the  west, 
as  contrary  to  the  rights  of  Spain,  guarantied  by  Great  Britain  in 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  and  respected  by  all  European  nations.  To 
this  the  British  ministers  answered,  on  the  26th,  that,  although  they 
had  not  received  exact  information  as  to  the  facts  stated  by  the 


1790.] 


DISCUSSIONS    I       LONDON. 


203 


ambassador,  yet  the  act  of  violence  against  British  subjects  described 
in  his  note  necessarily  suspended  all  discussion  of  the  claims  ad- 
vanced by  him,  until  adequate  atonement  should  have  been  made 
for  the  outrage.  In  the  mean  time,  they  demanded  the  immediate 
restoration  of  the  vessel  seized,  reserving  further  proceedings  on  the 
subject  until  more  complete  details  of  the  circumstances  could  be 
obtained. 

This  unexpected  answer,  with  other  circumstances,  induced  the 
Spanish  cabinet  to  suspect  that  more  was  meant  than  had  been 
openly  declared  by  Great  Britain  ;  that  this  power  was,  in  fact,  only 
seeking  an  occasion  to  break  the  peace  with  Spain  for  some  ulte- 
rior object :  and,  under  the  influence  of  this  suspicion,  preparations 
for  war  were  commenced  in  all  the  naval  arsenals  of  the  latter  king- 
dom. The  king  of  Spain  being,  however,  anxious  to  prevent  a 
rupture,  if  possible,  his  ambassador  at  London  addressed  another 
note  to  the  British  government  in  April,  declaring  that,  although 
the  Spanish  crown  had  an  indubitable  right  to  the  continent,  islands, 
harbors,  and  coasts,  of  America  on  the  Pacific,  founded  upon  trea- 
ties and  immemorial  possession,  yet,  as  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  had 
released  the  vessel  seized  at  Nootka,  his  Catholic  majesty  regarded 
the  affair  as  concluded,  without  entering  into  any  disputes  and  dis- 
cussions on  the  undoubted  rights  of  Spain ;  and,  desiring  to  give  a 
proof  of  his  friendship  for  Great  Britain,  he  should  rest  satisfied,  if 
her  subjects  were  commanded  to  respect  those  rights  in  future. 

This  last  communication  was  received  about  the  time  when 
Meares  arrived  in  London  from  China ;  and  the  information  brought 
by  him  was  not  calculated  to  render  the  British  government  inclined 
to  accept  the  pacific  overture  of  Spain.  On  the  contrary,  orders 
were  issued  for  arming  two  large  fleets,  and  the  whole  affair,  which 
had  been  previously  kept  secret,  was  submitted  to  Parliament  by  a 
message  from  the  king  on  the  5th  of  May. 

In  this  message,  his  majesty  states  that  two  vessels,  belonging  to 
his  subjects,  and  navigated  under  the  British  flag,  and  two  others, 
of  which  the  description  was  not  then  sufficiently  ascertained,  had 
been  captured  at  Nootka  Sound,  by  an  officer  commanding  two 
Spanish  ships  of  war ;  the  cargoes  of  the  two  British  vessels  had 
been  seized,  and  their  crews  had  been  sent  as  prisoners  to  a  Span- 
ish port ;  —  that,  as  soon  as  he  had  been  informed  of  the  capture 
of  one  of  these  vessels,  he  had  ordered  a  demand  to  be  made  for 
her  restitution,  and  for  adequate  satisfaction,  previous  to  any  other 
discussion  ;  from  the  answer  to  which  demand,  it  appeared  that  the 


'   ii 


-  ^  \ 


»04 


THE    KINO    or    ENOLAND  S   MESSAGE. 


[1790. 


vessel  and  her  crew  had  been  liberated  by  the  viceroy  of  Mexico, 
on  the  supposition,  however,  that  ignorance  of  the  rights  of  Spain 
alone  induced  individuals  of  other  nations  to  frequent  those  coasts, 
for  the  purposes  of  trade  and  settlement ;  —  but  that  no  satisfaction 
was  made  or  offered  by  Spain,  and  a  direct  claim  was  asserted  by 
her  government  to  the  exclusive  rights  of  sovereignty,  navigation, 
and  commerce,  in  the  territories,  coasts,  and  seas,  of  that  part  of  the 
world.  In  consequence  of  all  which,  his  majesty  had  directed  his 
minister  at  Madrid  to  make  a  fresh  representation  on  the  subject, 
and  to  claim  such  full  and  adequate  satisfaction  as  the  nature  of  the 
case  evidently  required.  Having,  moreover,  been  informed  that 
considerable  armaments  were  in  progress  in  the  ports  of  Spain,  he 
had  judged  it  indispensable  to  make  preparations  for  acting  with 
vigor  and  effect  in  support  of  the  honor  of  his  crown,  and  the  inter- 
ests of  his  people ;  and  he  recommended  that  Parliameht  should 
enable  him  to  take  such  other  measures,  and  to  make  such  aug- 
mentations of  his  forces,  as  might  be  eventually  requisite  for  this 
purpose.""* 

The  recommendations  in  this  message  were  received  with  every 
mark  of  concturrence  in  Parliament  and  throughout  the  kingdom ; 
the  supplies  wei3  immediately  voted,  and  the  preparations  for  war 
were  continued  with  unexampled  activity.  On  the  day  in  which 
the  message  was  sent,  a  note  was  addressed  to  the  Spanish  ambas- 
sador at  London,  containing  a  reiteration  of  the  demands  previously 
made,  and  of  the  declaration  that,  until  those  demands  should  have 
been  satisfied,  the  question  of  the  rights  of  Spain  would  not  be  dis- 
cussed. "  His  majesty,"  says  the  note,  *<  will  take  the  most  effectual 
pacific  measures  to  prevent  his  subjects  from  trespassing  on  the  just 
and  acknowledge  '  rights  of  Spain :  but  he  cannot  accede  to  the 
pretensions  of  absolute  sovereignty,  commerce,  and  navigation, 
which  appeared  to  be  the  principal  objects  of  the  last  note  from 
the  Spanish  ambassador ;  and  he  considers  it  his  duty  to  protect  his 
subjects  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  right  of  fishery  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean."  The  British  Charge  d'affaires  at  Madrid  also  presented,  in 
the  name  of  his  government,  formal  demands  for  the  restitution  of 
the  other  vessel  [the  Princess  Royal]  and  cargo  seized  at  Nootka, 
and  for  reparation  of  the  losses  and  injuries  sustained  by  the  British 
subjects  trading  in  the  North  Pacific  under  the  British  flag ;  asserting. 


en 
er 
w 

pi 


*  This  message,  and  all  the  other  official  documents  relative  to  the  discussion 
which  have  been  published,  will  be  found  in  the  Proofs  and  THustrations,  under  the 
letter  1>. 


1790.] 


DEMANDS   OF    THE   BBITISH   GOVERNMENT. 


»eft 


at  the  same  time,  as  a  principle  which  would  be  maintained  by  his 
government,  that  "  British  subjects  have  an  indisputable  right  to  the 
enjoyment  of  a  free  and  uninterrupted  navigation,  commerce,  and  fish- 
ery, and  to  the  possession  of  such  establishments  as  they  should  form, 
with  the  consent  of  the  natives  of  the  country,  not  previously  occu- 
pied by  any  of  the  European  nations." 

To  these  formal  exactions  of  the  British  government,  the  court  of 
Madrid  replied,  at  first  indirectly,  by  a  circular  letter  addressed,  on 
the  4th  of  June,  to  all  the  other  courts  of  Europe.  This  letter  was 
couched  in  the  most  conciliatory  language :  it  contained  a  recapitu- 
lation of  the  circumstances  of  the  dispute,  according  to  the  views 
of  Spain ;  denying  all  intention,  on  her  part,  to  commit  or  defend 
any  act  of  injustice  against  Great  Britain,  or  to  claim  any  rights 
which  did  not  rest  upon  irrefragable  titles ;  insisting  that  the  cap- 
ture of  the  British  vessel  had  been  repaired  by  the  conduct  of  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico  in  immediately  restoring  her ;  and  declaring  the 
readiness  of  his  Catholic  majesty  to  satisfy  any  demands  which 
should  prove  to  be  well  founded,  after  an  investigativ  n  of  the  ques- 
tion of  right  between  the  two  crowns.  This  reply  not  being  con- 
sidered sufficient  by  the  British  ambassador,  a  Memorial  was  deliv- 
ered to  him,  on  the  13th  of  the  same  month,  by  count  de  Florida 
Blanca,  the  Spanish  minister  of  state,  not  differing  essentially  in  its 
import  from  the  circular  letter;  which,  however,  served  only  to 
render  the  ambassador  still  more  urgent  for  a  specific  answer  to  the 
demands  of  liis  government.  At  length,  after  repeated  conferences, 
tlie  Spanish  minister,  on  the  18th,  officially  signified  that  his  sove- 
reigti,  having  approved  the  restitution  of  all  the  vessels  and  their  car- 
goes seized  at  Nootka,  was  willing  to  indemnify  the  owners  for  their 
losses,  and  also  to  make  satisfaction  for  the  insult  to  the  dignity  of" 
the  British  crown ;  provided,  that  the  extent  of  the  insult  and  of  the 
satisfaction  should  be  settled,  in  form  and  substance,  either  by  one 
of  the  kings  of  Europe,  to  be  selected  by  his  Britannic  majesty,  or 
by  a  negotiation  between  the  two  governments,  in  which  no  facts 
were  to  bf  admitted  as  true,  except  such  as  were  fully  established ; 
and  that  no  inference  atfecting  the  rights  of  Spain  should  be  drawn 
from  the  act  of  giving  satisfaction. 

This  offer  of  reparation  was  accepted  by  the  court  of  London ; 
and,  on  the  24th  of  July,  count  de  Florida  Blanca  presented  to 
Mr.  Fitzherbert,  the  British  ambassador  at  Madrid,  a  Declaration, 
in  the  name  of  his  sovereign,  to  the  effect  —  that  he  would  restore 
the  vessels  and  indemnify  the  owners  for  their  losses,  so  soon  as  the 


m 


S!    1 


it 


206 


PITT  S    SCHEME    FOR   HUMBLING   SPAIN. 


[1790. 


I      / 


N 


I   !- 


1 


amount  should  have  been  ascertained,  and  would  give  satisfaction 
to  his  Britannic  majesty  for  the  injury  of  which  he  complained ; 
it  being  however,  "  understood  that  this  declaration  is  not  to  pre- 
clude or  prejudice  the  ulterior  discussion  of  any  right,  which  his 
[Catholic]  majesty  may  claim,  to  form  an  exclusive  establishment  at  the 
port  of  Nootka."  In  return  the  British  ambassador  presented  a  Counter 
Declaration,*  purporting  that  the  Spanish  Declaration,  together  with 
the  performance  of  the  engagements  therein  made,  were  considered 
by  his  Sovereign,  "  as  a  full  and  entire  satisfaction  for  the  injury" 
complained  of;  with  the  reservation  nevertheless,  that  this  accept- 
ance was  not  to  "  preclude  or  prejudice  in  any  respect,  the  right 
which  his  [Britannic]  majesty  may  claim,  to  any  establishments  which 
his  subjects  may  have  formed,  or  should  be  desirous  of  forming  in 
future,  at  the  said  bay  of  Nootka."  ''■       •     <   .* i  ■- 

The  affair  had  thus  far  proceeded,  nearly  in  the  same  course  as 
that  respecting  the  Falkland  Islands,  twenty  years  previous ;  and 
the  government  of  Madrid  probably  supposed  that  it  would  have 
been  terminated  in  the  same  manner.  But  Mr.  Pitt,  then  in  the 
fulness  of  his  power  in  England,  had  other  objects  in  view.  The 
revolution  in  France  was  then  advancing  with  a  rapidity  terrible  to 
all  who  desired  to  maintain  the  existing  state  of  things  in  Europe  ; 
and  anti-monarchical  doctrines  and  feelings  were  pervading  every 
part  of  that  continent,  and  even  of  the  British  Islands.  Pitt  clearly 
foresaw  the  storm  which  afterwards  came  on,  and  determined 
to  prepare  for  it,  by  arming  at  home,  and  by  leading  or  forcing 
other  nations  to  accede  to  his  plans.  He  accordingly  formed  alli- 
ances with  Holland  and  Sweden :  fpr  Spain  he  had  inherited  all 
his  father's  hatred  and  contempt ;  and,  considering  her  long  and 
close  connection  with  France,  he  resolved  to  bend  and  bind  her  to 
his  views  by  the  strong  hand.  He  had  already,  in  an  inconceivably 
short  space  of  time,  assembled  a  mighty  armament,  which  he  in- 
tended, in  the  event  of  a  war,  to  direct  against  the  Spanish  posses- 
sions in  America,  for  the  purpose  of  wresting  them  from  their  actual 
rulers,  either  by  conquest  or  by  internal  revolution ;  and,  having 
assumed  this  position,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  require  from  Spain  the 
surrender  of  many  of  the  exclusive  pretensions  with  regard  to  navi- 
gation, commerce,  and  territorial  sovereignty,  upon  which  her  do- 
minion  in  the  western  continent  was  supposed,  with  reason,  to 


*  The  Declaration  and  Counter  Declaration  may  be  found  among  the  documents  con- 
nected with  the  discussion,  in  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  under  the  letter  D,  No.  7. 


1790.] 


FURTHEH    NEGOTIATION    AT    MADRID. 


207 


depend.  The  negotiation  on  the  subject  of  these  demands  was 
continued  at  Madrid  for  three  months  after  the  acceptance  of  the 
Spanish  Declaration  ;  during  which  period  couriers  were  constantly 
flying  between  that  city  and  London,  and  the  whole  civilized  world 
was  kept  in  suspense  and  anxiety  as  to  the  result. 

The  British  plenipotentiary  at  Madrid,  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  began  by 
requiring  from  Spain  a  distinct  admission  of  the  right  of  his  coun- 
trymen to  navigate  and  fish  in  any  part  of  the  Pacific,  and  to  trade 
and  settle  on  any  of  its  unoccupied  American  coasts ;  in  reply  to 
which,  the  Spanish  minister,  Count  de  Florida  Blanca,  proposed  to 
admit  the  rights  of  fishery,  trade,  and  settlement,  with  regard  to  the 
open  sea,  and  to  coasts  north  of  the  51st  parallel  of  latitude,  on 
condition  that  the  British  should  never  penetrate  more  than  twenty 
leagues  into  the  interior,  from  those  coasts,  and  to  allow  the  privi- 
lege of  fishing  about  the  southern  extremity  of  the  continent,  but 
not  of  settling  there,  leaving  to  Spain  the  right  to  destroy  any  such 
establishments,  "as  is  practised  in  the  Falkland  Islands."*     Mr. 
Fitzherbert  rejected  this  proposition,  and  insisted  that  certain  lines 
of  boundary  should  be  drawn  from  the  coasts,  through  the  interior 
of  'the  continents,  in  the  north  and  in  the  south,  between  which 
British  subjects  should  form  no  settlements ;  the  territories  beyond 
those  lin^ »,  in  either  direction,  being  free  to  both  nations,  provided 
-hat  the  subjects  of  either  should  have  access  to  the  settlements 
thus  made   by  the  other  party.     The  line  first  proposed  by  the 
British  as  the  northern  boundary,  was  to  extend  from  the  Pacific, 
along  the  31st  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  Colorado,  thence  along 
that  river  to  its  source,  and  thence  to  the  nearest  branch  of  the 
Missouri ;  but  another  line  was  afterwards  offered,  running  from 
the  Pacific,  along  the  40th  parallel  of  latitude,  eastward  to  the 
Missouri.     The  Spanish  government,  however,  positively  refused  to 
assent   to   these  or  any  other  lines  of  boundary  thus  arbitrarily 
chosen ;  and  all  hope  of  accommodation  seemed  to  be  destroyed. 
It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  remark,  that  the  admission  of  either 
of  these  lines  would  have  materially  affected  the  destinies  of  the 
United  States,  and,  indeed,  of  the  whole  northern  continent. 

In  the  mean  time,  events  were  occurring  in  other  parts  of  Europe, 
which  contributed  to  change  the  views  of  the  disputing  parties,  and 
to  incline  them  to  compromise  their  differences,  and  even  to  unite 
their  forces. 

As  soon  as  the  dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  and  the 

•  Nnrrative  of  the  negotiations  occasioned  by  the  dispute  between  England  and 
Sptin  in  the  year  1790,  officially  published  by  the  British  ministers  in  1790. 


m; 


208 


PRO0KBDINO8    OT   THE   FRENCH   OOTERMMENT. 


[1790. 


■i  ill 


(Mrepamtions  of  those  powers  for  war,  became  known,  King  Louii 
XVI.  of  France  ordered  fourteen  sail  of  the  line  to  be  equipped 
for  active  service,  in  ordei  to  meet  contingencies.  He  was,  how- 
ever, under  the  necessity  of  communicating  this  measure  to  the 
National  Assembly,  then  in  session,  which  seized  the  occasion  to 
deprive  the  crown  of  one  of  its  most  essential  attributes.  On  the 
S4th  of  May,  a  decree  was  passed  by  that  body,  establishing  that 
the  ri^t  to  make  war  or  peace  belonged  to  the  nation,  and  could 
only  be  exercised  through  the  concurrence  of  the  legislative  and  the 
executive  branches  of  the  government ;  and  that  no  treaty  with  an- 
other power  could  have  effect  until  it  had  been  ratified  by  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  nation :  a  committee  was  at  the  same  time 
appointed  to  examine  and  report  upon  all  the  existing  treaties  of  ^ 
alliance  between  France  and  other  nations.  These  proceedings 
were  equivalent  to  an  annulment  of  the  Family  Contact  between 
the  sovereigns  of  the  house  of  Bourbon :  nevertheless,  when  the 
king  of  Spain  found  himself  pressed  by  Great  Britun  to  relinquish 
his  exclusive  pretensions  with  regard  to  America,  he  formally  ap^ 
(died  to  his  cousin  of  France  for  aid,  agreeably  to  that  compact,  hi 
resisting  those  demands ;  declaring,  at  the  same  time,  that,  unless 
the  assistance  should  be  given  speedily  and  effectually,  "Spain 
would  be  under  the  necessity  of  seeking  other  friends  and  allies 
among  all  the  powers  of  Europe,  without  excepting  any,  on  whom 
she  could  rely  in  case  of  need." 

The  letter  of  the  king  of  Spain  was  submitted  by  Louis  XVI.  to 
the  National  Assembly,  by  which  it  was  referred  to  the  committee 
appointed  to  examine  the  existing  treaties  between  France  and 
other  nations ;  and,  in  the  name  of  that  committee,  the  celebrated 
Mirabeau,  on  the  24t)i  of  August,  presented  a  luminous  report,  in- 
cluding considerations  of  the  character  of  the  Family  Compact  and 
other  engagements  between  France  and  Spain,  and  a  view  of 
the  actual  pontions  of  Spain  and  Great  Britain  towards  each 
other  and  towards  France.  The  questions  raised  by  this  report 
were  debated,  with  great  display  of  eloquence  and  political  wis- 
dom, by  Mirabeau,  the  Abb^  Maury,  Lameth,  Bamave,  and  other 
distinguished  members  of  the  Assembly ;  and  it  was  decreed  that 
France,  while  taking  proper  measures  to  maintain  peace,  should 
observe  the  existing  commercial  and  defensive  engagements  between 
her  government  and  that  of  Spain ;  but  that  a  new  and  national 
treaty  should  be  immediately  negotiated,  wherein  the  relations  of 
the  two  countries  towards  each  other  should  be  defined  and  fixed 
with  precision  and  clearness,  agreeably  to  the  views  of  general 


.,  % 


1790.] 


SECRET    NEGOTIATION    AT    PARIS. 


209 


peace,  and  the  principles  of  justice,  which  were,  in  future,  to  prevail 
in  France ;  and  that,  taking  into  consideration  the  armaments  then 
in  progress  throughout  Europe,  and  the  dangers  to  which  the 
commerce  and  colonies  of  France  might  be  exposed,  the  marine 
force  of  the  kingdom  should  be  increased,  without  delay,  to  forty- 
five  sail  of  the  line,  and  a  proportionate  number  of  frigates. 

Although  this  decree  contained  no  direct  promise  of  assistance 
to  Spain,  yet  it  showed  that  the  French  government  penetrated 
the  designs  of  the  British,  and  considered  them  inimical  to  its  own 
interests ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  report,  on  which  the  decree 
was  based,  evinced  an  ardent  desire,  on  the  part  of  the  French 
reformers,  to  preserve  peace.  In  the  mean  time,  revolutionary 
principles  were  making  rapid  progress  throughout  Europe.  The 
Dutch,  who  had  engaged  to  assist  the  British  with  a  fleet,  in  case 
of  a  war  with  Spain,  found  their  forces  necessary  at  home ;  Swe- 
den having,  much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  court  of  London, 
made  peace  with  Russia,  the  latter  power  was  left  at  liberty  to  pros- 
ecute its  schemes  for  the  dismemberment  of  "  England's  old  ally," 
Turkey  ;  and,  in  the  East  Indies,  Tippoo  Saib  was  beginning  that 
war  against  the  British  power  which  he  prosecuted  so  long  and 
vigorously.  Moreover,  the  expenses  of  the  British  armament  had 
already  amounted  to  more  than  four  millions  of  pounds ;  and  the 
financial  condition  of  England  was  not  such  as  to  encourage  her 
government  to  commence  hostilities,  which  would,  most  probably, 
become  general.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  court  of  St. 
James  was  under  the  necessity  of  lowering  its  tone,  and  of  receding 
from  its  first  demands.  The  determination  of  lines  of  boundary  to 
the  Spanish  American  dominions  in  the  north  and  in  the  south  was 
no  longer  required ;  and  it  was  admitted  that  the  navigation  and 
fishery  of  British  subjects  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  should  not  be 
carried  on  within  ten  sea  leagues  of  any  existing  Spanish  settle- 
ment, and  that  neither  party  should  form  settlements  on  the  coasts 
of  South  America,  south  of  those  actually  occupied  by  Spain.  Mr. 
Pitt,  moreover,  knowing  the  intimate  relations  which  still  subsisted 
between  the  French  and  Spanish  governments,  commissioned  a 
gentleman  at  Paris,  upon  whom  he  could  rely,  to  sound  Mirabeau, 
and  other  leaders  of  the  National  Assembly ;  and,  having  reason 
to  believe  them  sincerely  anxious  to  prevent  hostilities,  he  instructed 
his  agent  to  propose  a  secret  negotiation,  to  be  carried  on  through 
the  medium  of  the  French  government,  for  the  restoration  of  a 
good  understanding  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain. 
27 


.^i^ 


*j 


m\ 


1^: 


210 


TERMINATION    OF    THE    DISPUTE. 


[1790. 


In  the  letter  of  instructions  from  Mr.  Pitt  to  his  agent  at  Paris,* 
he  declares  it  to  be  essential  that "  the  French  should  not  appear  in 
the  business  as  mediators,  still  less  as  arbitrators,"  and  that  no  en- 
couragement should  be  given  to  them  to  propose  any  other  terms 
than  those  on  which  Great  Britain  had  already  insisted ;  that, 
"whatever  confidential  communications  may  take  place  with  the 
diplomatic  committee  of  the  National  Assembly,  for  the  sake  of 
bringing  them  to  promote  the  views  of  Great  Britain,  no  ostensible 
intercourse  could  be  admitted,  except  through  accredited  minis- 
ters ; "  and  especially  that  "  no  assurances  be  given,  directly  or 
indirectly,  which  go  further  than  that  Great  Britain  means  to  perse- 
vere in  the  neutrality  which  she  has  hitherto  observed  with  respect 
to  the  internal  dissensions  of  France,  and  is  desirous  to  cultivate 
peace  and  friendly  relations  with  that  country."  The  agent,  thus 
instructed,  presented  himself  to  the  diplomatic  committee  of  the 
National  Assembly,  which  at  once  resolved  to  do  all  in  its  power 
tu  strengthen  the  relations  with  England,  and  to  prevent  a  war,  if 
possible ;  and,  with  this  view,  three  of  its  most  influential  members, 
Freteau,  Barnave,  and  Menou,  were  deputed  to  conduct  the  busi- 
ness on  its  part.  These  members  conferred  with  the  British  agent, 
and  also  with  M.  de  Montmorin,  the  minister  of  foreign  relations  of 
France,  who  communicated  directly  with  the  Spanish  government ; 
and  in  this  manner  the  controversy  was  brought  to  a  close,  by  a 
convention  signed,  at  the  palace  of  the  Escurial,  on  the  28th  of 
October,  by  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  the  British  ambassador,  and  count  de 
Florida  Blanca  on  the  part  of  Spain. 

This  convention,  commonly  called  the  NootTca  treaty,  contains 
eight  articles,  of  which  the  substance  is  as  follows :  — 

With  respect  to  the  circumstances  which  occasioned  the  dispute, 
it  was  stipulated,  by  the  first  and  second  articles,  that  the  build- 
ings and  tracts  of  land,  on  the  north-west  coasts  of  America, 
of  which  British  subjects  were  dispossessed  by  a  Spanish  officer, 
"  about  the  month  of  April,  1789,"  shall  be  restored ;  a  just  repara- 
tion shall  be  made  for  all  acts  of  violence  or  hostility  committed  by 
the  subjects  of  either  party  against  those  of  the  other,  "  subsequent 
to  the  month  of  April,  1789 ; "  and,  in  case  the  subjects  of  either 
should  have  been,  "  since  the  same  period,"  forcibly  dispossessed  of 
their  lands,  vessels,  or  other  property  on  the  American  coasts,  or  the 

*  The  whole  letter  is  given  by  Qishop  Tomline,  in  his  Life  of  Pitt,  chap.  xii.  The 
name  of  the  person  to  whom  it  is  addressed  does  not  appear ;  he  is  simply  mentioned 
aa  *'  a  gentleman  resident  at  Paris,  of  considerable  diplomatic  experience." 


1790.] 


NOOTKA   CONVENTIOir. 


311 


adjoining  seas,  they  shall  be  reestablished  in  the  possession  thereof, 
or  a  just  compensation  shall  be  made  to  them  for  their  losses. 

For  the  future,  it  was  agreed,  by  the  third  article  of  the  conven- 
tion, that  the  subjects  of  the  two  parties  shall  not  be  disturbed  in 
navigating  or  fishing  in  the  South  Seas,  or  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  in 
landing  on  the  coasts  thereof,  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for 
the  purposes  of  settlement  or  of  trade  with  the  natives ;  the  whole 
subject,  nevertheless,  to  the  restrictions  specified  in  the  three 
following  articles,  to  wit :  —  that  his  Britannic  majesty  shall  take 
the  most  eflfectual  means  to  prevent  his  subjects  from  making  their 
navigation  or  fishery  in  those  seas  a  pretext  for  illicit  trade  with 
the  Spanish  settlements ;  with  which  view  it  is  agreed  that  British 
subjects  shall  not  navigate  or  fish  within  ten  leagues  of  any  part  of 
the  coast  already  occupied  by  Spain ;  that  the  subjects  of  both 
nations  shall  have  free  access  and  right  of  trading  in  the  places 
restored  to  British  subjects  by  this  convention,  and  in  any  other 
parts  of  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  north  of  the  places 
already  occupied  by  Spain,  where  the  subjects  of  either  party  shall 
have  made  settlements  since  the  month  of  April,  1789,  or  may  in 
future  make  any ;  and  that  no  settlement  shall  in  future  be  made, 
by  the  subjects  of  either  power,  on  the  eastern  or  the  western  coasts 
of  South  Ai> 'erica,  or  the  adjacent  islands,  south  of  the  parts  of 
the  same  coasts  or  islands  already  occupied  by  Spain ;  though  the 
subjects  of  both  remained  at  liberty  to  land  on  those  coasts  and 
islands,  and  to  erect  temporary  buildings  only,  for  the  purposes  of 
their  fishery. 

Finally,  it  was  agreed,  by  the  seventh  article,  that,  in  cases  of 
infraction  of  the  convention,  the  officers  of  either  party  shall,  with- 
out committing  any  act  of  violence  themselves,  make  an  exact 
report  of  the  afiair  to  their  respective  governments,  which  would 
terminate  such  differences  in  an  amicable  manner.  The  eighth 
article  relates  merely  to  the  time  of  ratification  of  the  convention.* 

The  convention,  together  with  the  declaration  and  counter 
declaration  preceding  it,  were  submitted  to  Parliament  on  the  3d 
of  December,  unaccompanied  by  any  other  papers  relative  to  the 
negotiation ;  and  they  became  the  subjects  of  animated  debates,  in 
which  the  most  distinguished  members  of  both  houses  took  parts. 
The  arrangements  were  extolled  by  the  ministers  and  their  friends 
in  general  terms,  as  vindicating  the   dignity  of  the  nation,  and 


*  The  convention  will  be  found  at  length  among  the  Proofs  and  IlIuBtrations,  in 
the  latter  part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  K,  No.  1. 


219 


NOOTKA    CONVENTION    BEFORE    PARLIAMENT. 


[1790. 


providing  reparation  for  the  injuries  sustained  by  ito  subjects,  and 
as  securing  to  those  subjects,  in  future,  the  rights  of  navigation  and 
fishery  in  the  Pacific  and  Southern  Oceans,  and  of  settlement  on 
their  unoccupied  coasts,  and  cstabHshing  the  long-discussed  ques- 
tions  on  those  points,  on  such  grounds  as  must  prevent  all  further 
dispute.  The  opposition,  on  the  other  hand,  contended  that  the 
reparation  promised  by  Spain  was  incomplete  and  insufficient; 
that  the  arrangements  for  the  prevention  of  future  difliculties>were 
merely  culpable  concessions  to  that  power,  whereby  the  rights  of 
British  subjects  were  materially  abridged,  and  the  Spaniards  would 
be  encouraged  to  commit  further  acts  of  violence ;  and,  finally, 
that  all  the  advantages  which  could  bo  expected  from  the  con- 
vention, even  according  to  the  views  of  the  ministers,  were  far 
below  the  amount  of  the  expense  at  which  they  had  been  obtained. 

It  was  noticed  by  Mr.  Charles  Fox,  as  a  curious  and  inexplicable 
incongruity  in  the  treaty,  that ''about  the  month  of  April,  1789," 
should  have  been  inserted  as  the  date  of  what  was  known  to  have 
taken  place,  agreeably  to  all  the  evidence  produced,  in  May  of  the 
same  ycir ;  and  that,  although,  by  the  first  article,  the  lands  and 
building?  declared  to  have  been  taken  from  British  subjects  by  a 
Spanish  officer,  "about  the  month  of  April,  1789,"  were  to  be 
restored,  yet,  by  the  second  article,  the  lands,  buildings,  and  other 
property,  of  which  the  subjects  of  either  party  had  been  dispos- 
sessed "subsequent  to  the  month  of  April,  1789,"  were  to  be 
restored,  or  compensation  was  to  be  made  to  the  owners  for  the 
losses  which  they  might  have  sustained.  Upon  this  point,  it  will  be 
seen  that,  if  the  word  "  or,^^  in  the  concluding  part  of  the  second 
article,  were  replaced  by  and,  the  incongruity  would  disappear ; 
but  then,  also,  the  first  article  would  become  entirely  superfluous. 
It  would,  however,  be  idle  to  suppose  that  any  error  could  have 
been  committed  with  regard  to  matters  so  essential,  or  that  the 
want  of  accordance  between  the  different  provisions  of  the  con- 
vention, noticed  by  Mr.  Fox,  should  have  been  the  result  of  accident 
or  carelessness.  The  ministers,  when  pressed  for  explanations  on 
this  head,  answered,  indirectly,  that  the  Spanish  government  would 
make  the  restitutions  as  agreed  in  the  first  article. 

It  may  here  be  observed,  that  no  notice  whatsoever  of  a  claim, 
on  the  part  of  British  subjects,  to  lands  or  buildings  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  America,  appears  either  in  the  king's  message  to 
Parliament,  communicating  the  fact  of  the  seizures  at  Nootka,  or 


1790.1 


NOOTKA  CONVrNTION  BCrORR  PARLIAMRNT. 


313 


in  the  debates  in  Parliament  on  that  message,  or  in  the  oflficial 
correspondence  between  the  two  governments  on  the  subject,  so  far 
as  pubHshed ;  and  the  only  evidence  of  such  acquisition  of  lands  or 
erection  of  buildings  to  be  found  among  the  documents  annexed  to 
the  Memorial  presented  by  Mcarcs  to  the  ministry,  is  contained  in 
the  information  of  William  Graham,  a  seaman  of  the  Felice,  which 
was  taken  in  London  five  days  after  the  date  of  the  Memorial. 
"  The  statement  of  actual  and  probable  losses"  for  which  the  memo- 
rialists prayed  to  be  indemnified,  to  the  amount  of  six  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  is,  moreover,  confined  entirely  to  losses  con- 
sequent upon  the  seizure  of  the  vessels  and  cargoes  at  Nootka. 
This  silence,  with  regard  to  lands  and  buildings,  in  all  the  docu- 
ments brought  from  China  by  Mcares,  certainly  authorizes  the 
suspicion  that  the  idea  of  advancing  a  claim  on  those  points  may 
have  occurred  to  that  gentleman,  or  may  have  been  suggested 
to  him  after  his  arrival  in  England,  and  even  after  his  first  commu- 
nications with  the  ministers. 

With  respect  to  the  rights  of  navigation  and  fishery  in  the  Pacific 
and  Southern  Oceans,  and  of  settlement  on  their  unoccupied  coasts, 
it  was  insisted  by  Fox,  Grey,  the  marquis  of  Lansdowne,  and  other 
eminent  members  of  the  opposition  in  Puuament,  that  nothing 
had  been  gained,  but,  on  the  contrary,  much  had  been  surrendered, 
by  the  convention.  "  Our  right,  before  the  convention,"  said  Mr.  Fox, 
—  **  whether  admitted  or  denied  by  Spain  was  of  no  consequence,  — 
was  to  settle  in  any  part  of  South  or  North- West  America,  not  for- 
tified against  us  by  previous  occupancy ;  and  we  were  now  restrict- 
ed to  settle  in  certain  places  only,  and  under  certain  conditions. 
Our  rights  of  fishing  extended  to  the  whole  oc^an ;  and  now  it  was 
limited,  and  not  to  be  exercised  within  certain  distances  of  the 
Spanish  settlements.  Our  right  of  making  settlements  was  not,  as 
now,  a  right  to  build  huts,  but  to  plant  colonies,  if  we  thought 
proper.  In  renouncing  all  right  to  make  settlements  in  South 
America,  we -had  given  to  Spain  what  she  considered  as  inestima- 
ble, and  had,  in  return,  been  contented  with  dross."  "  In  every 
place  in  which  we  might  settle,"  said  Grey,  "  access  was  left  for  the 
Spaniards.  Where  we  might  form  a  settlement  on  one  hill,  they 
might  erect  a  fort  on  another ;  and  a  merchant  must  run  all  the 
risks  of  a  discovery,  and  all  the  expenses  of  an  establishment,  for  a 
property  which  was  liable  to  be  the  subject  of  continual  dispute, 
and  could  never  be  placed  upon  a  permanent  footing." 


214 


REVIEW   OF    THE    NOOTKA    CONVENTION. 


[1790. 


As  to  the  utility  of  the  convention  in  preventing  disputes  in 
future  between  the  two  nations,  Mr.  Fox  was  wholly  incredulous ; 
and  he  predicted  that  difficulties  would  soon  arise  (as  they  did) 
from  the  impossibility  of  devising  and  enforcmg  any  measures  on 
the  part  of  Great  Britain,  which  could  be  considered  "  effectual,"  in 
checking  illicit  trade  between  British  subjects  and  the  Spanish  set- 
tlements in  America.  "  This  treaty,"  says  he,  in  conclusion,  "  re- 
minds me  of  a  lawyer's  will,  drawn  by  himself,  with  a  note  in  the 
margin  of  a  particular  clause  — '  This  will  afford  room  for  an  excel- 
lent disquisition  in  the  Court  of  Chancenj.'  With  equal  propriety, 
and  full  as  much  truth,  might  those  who  had  extolled  the  latp  nego- 
tiation, for  the  occasion  it  had  given  to  show  the  vigor  and  prompt- 
itude of  the  national  resources,  write  in  the  margin  of  most  of  the 
articles  of  the  convention  —  *  This  vdll  afford  an  admirable  oppor- 
tunity for  a  future  display  of  the  power  and  energy  of  Great 
Britain^  " 

To  all  these  objections  the  ministers  and  their  friends  gave  only 
short,  general,  and  evasive  answers.  Their  great  majorities  in  both 
houses  enabled  them  to  dispense  with  arguments,  and  to  evade  the 
calls  for  information  or  papers  relating  to  the  transaction ;  and, 
having  triumphantly  carried  their  vote  of  thanks  to  the  sovereign, 
they  were  left  at  liberty  to  execute  the  new  engagements,  according 
to  their  own  construction,  for  which  they  had  certainly  provided 
themselves  with  ample  space. 

As  the  convention  of  October,  1790,  was  the  first  diplomatic  ar- 
rangement between  the  governments  of  civilized  nations  with  regard 
to  the  north-west  coast  of  North  America,  its  conclusion  forms  an 
important  era  in  the  history  of  that  part  of  the  world.  On  exam- 
ining its  stipulations,  we  shall  see  that  they  were  calculated 
to  produce  very  few  and  slight  changes  in  any  way,  and  that 
those  changes  were  not,  upon  the  whole,  disadvantageous  to  the 
real  interests  of  Spain.  The  exclusive  navigation  of  the  Pacific  and 
Southern  Oceans,  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  vacant  territories  of 
America  bordering  upon  them,  were  claimed  by  Spain,  only  with 
the  object  of  preventing  other  nations  from  intercourse  with  her 
settlements ;  as  her  government  foresaw  that  such  intercourse,  par- 
ticularly with  the  British,  who  had  for  more  than  two  centuries 
been  striving  to  establish  it,  would  be  fatal  to  the  subsistence  of 
Spanish  supremacy  over  those  dominions.  By  the  convention,  both 
parties  were  admitted,  equally,  to  navigate  and  fish  in  the  above- 


l\ 


1790.] 


REVIEW    or   THE    ZfOOTKA   CONVENTION. 


215 


named  seas ;  but  the  British  were,  at  the  same  time,  specially  pro- 
hibited from  approaching  the  tenitories  under  the  actual  authority 
of  Spain,  and  were  thus  debarred  from  the  exercise  of  a  privilege 
advantageous  to  themselves  and  most  annoying  to  Spain,  which 
they  previously  possessed  in  virtue  of  their  maritime  superiority. 
Both  parties  were  by  the  convention  equally  excluded  from  settling 
on  the  vacant  coasts  of  South  America,  and  from  exercising  that 
jurisdiction  which  is  essential  to  political  sovereignty,  over  any  spot 
north  of  the  most  northern  Spanish  settlement  on  the  Pacific  :  but 
the  British  and  the  Russians  were  the  only  nations  who  would  be 
likely  to  occupy  any  of  those  territories,  and  the  British  would  not, 
probably,  concede  to  the  Russians  any  rights  greater  than  those 
which  they  themselves  possessed ;  and  any  establishment  which 
either  of  those  powers  might  form  in  the  north,  under  circumstances 
so  disadvantageous,  would  be  separated  from  the  settled  provinces 
of  Spain  by  a  region  of  mountains,  forests,  and  deserts,  of  more 
than  a  thousand  miles  in  extent.  The  convention,  in  fine,  estab- 
lished new  bases  for  the  navigation  and  fishery  of  the  respective 
parties,  and  their  trade  with  the  natives  on  the  unoccupied  coasts 
of  America ;  but  it  determined  nothing  regarding  the  rights  of  either 
to  the  sovereignty  of  any  portion  of  America,  except  so  far  as  it 
may  imply  an  abrogation,  or  rather  a  suspension,  of  all  such  claims, 
on  both  sides,  to  any  of  those  coasts. 

It  is,  however,  probable  that  the  convention  published,  as  the 
result  of  this  negotiation,  did  not  contain  all  the  engagements 
contracted  by  Great  Britain  and  Spain  towards  each  other  on  that 
occasion.  It  was  generally  believed  in  Europe  that  a  secret  treaty 
of  alliance  was  at  the  same  time  signed,  by  which  the  two  nations 
were  bound,  under  certain  contingencies,  to  act  together  against 
France,  with  the  understanding  that  the  stipulations  of  the  conven- 
tion published  should  remain  inoperative ;  and  this  supposition  is 
strengthened  by  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  alliance  between 
those  powers,  concluded  on  the  25th  of  May,  1793,  setting  forth 
that,  "  Their  majesties  having  perceived  just  grounds  of  jealousy 
and  uneasiness  for  the  safety  of  their  respective  dominions,  and  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  general  system  of  Europe,  in  the  measures 
which  have  been  for  some  time  past  adopted  by  France,  they  had 
already  agreed  to  establish  between  them  an  intimate  and  entire  con- 
cert, upon  the  means  of  opposing  a  sufficient  barrier  to  those  dan- 
gerous views  of  aggression  and  aggrandizement,"  &c. 


216 


m^ 


CHAPTER    X. 

1790  TO  1792. 


Vancouver  lent  by  the  British  GoTernment  to  explore  the  Coasts  of  America,  and 
receive  Possession  of  Lands  and  Buildings  agreeably  to  the  Convention  with 
Spain  —  Passage  of  the  Washington,  under  Kendrick,  through  the  Strait  of  Fuca, 
in  1789 — Nootka  reoccupied  by  the  Spaniards — Voyages  of  Fidalgo,  Quimper, 
Elisa,  Billings,  Marchand,  and  Malaspina  —  Voyages  of  the  American  Fur  Tra- 
ders Gray,  Ingraham,  and  Kendrick  —  Discovery  of  the  Washington  Islands  by 
Ingraham. 

In  execution  of  the  first  and  second  articles  of  the  conven- 
tion of  October,  1790,  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain,  com- 
missioners were  appointed  on  each  side,  who  were  to  meet  at 
Nootka  Sound,  and  there  to  determine  what  lands  and  buildings 
were  to  be  restored  lo  the  British  claimants,  or  what  amount  of 
indemnification  was  to  be  made  to  them  by  Spain.  The  British 
government  at  first  selected  Captain  Trowbridge  as  its  agent  for 
this  purpose ;  but  the  business  was  afterwards  committed  to  Captain 
George  Vancouver,  who  was  then  about  to  sail  on  a  voyage  of  ex- 
ploration to  the  Pacific. 

Vancouver  was  instructed  to  examine  and  survey  the  whole 
shores  of  the  American  continent  on  the  Pacific,  from  the  35th  to 
the  60th  parallels  of  latitude ;  to  ascertain  particularly  the  number, 
situation,  and  extent  of  the  settlements  of  civilized  nations  within 
these  limits  ;  and  especially  to  acquire  information  as  to  the  nature 
and  direction  of  any  water-passage,  which  might  serve  as  a  channel 
for  commercial  intercourse  between  that  side  of  America  and  the 
territories  on  the  Atlantic  side  occupied  by  British  subjects.  For 
this  last-mentioned  object,  he  was  particularly  to  "  examine  the  sup- 
posed Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  said  to  be  situated  between  the  48th 
and  the  49th  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and  to  lead  to  an  opening 
through  which  the  sloop  Washington  is  reported  to  have  passed  in 
1789,  and  to  have  come  out  again  to  the  northward  of  Nootka."* 

*  Introduction  to  Vancouver's  narrative  of  his  voyage. 


1791.]       kendrick's  passage  through  fuca's  strait. 


217 


With  these  orders,  Vancouver  sailed  from  England  in  January, 
1791,  in  the  ship  Discovery,  accompanied  by  the  brig  Chatham, 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Robert  Broughton.  The  instruc- 
tions for  his  conduct  as  commissioner  were  afterwards  despatched 
to  Iiim  in  the  store-ship  Dcedalus. 

The  account  of  the  passage  of  the  Washington  through  the  Strait 
of  Fuca,  mentioned  in  the  instructions  to  Vancouver,  had  appeared 
in  the  '*  Observations  on  the  probable  Existence  of  a  JVorth-West 
passage,"  prefixed  by  Meares  to  the  narrative  of  his  voyages,  which 
had  then  been  recently  published  at  London.  Meares  there  says, 
"  The  Washington  entered  the  Straits  of  John  de  Fuca,  the  knowl- 
edge of  which  she  had  received  from  us ;  and,  penetrating  up  them, 
entered  into  an  extensive  sea,  where  she  steered  to  the  northward 
and  eastward,  and  had  communications  with  the  various  tribes  who 
inhabit  the  shores  of  the  numerous  islands  that  are  situated  at  the 
back  of  Nootka  Sound,  and  speak,  with  some  little  variation,  the 
language  of  the  Nootkan  people.  The  track  of  this  vessel  is  marked 
on  the  map,  and  is  of  great  moment,  as  it  is  now  completely  ascer- 
tained ll .  «  Nootka  Sound  and  the  parts  adjacent  are  islands,  and 
compre!<.  "if'  within  the  great  northern  archipelago.  The  sea  also 
which  i  -.'  r  1  to  the  east  is  of  great  extent,  and  it  is  from  this  sta- 
tionary point,  and  the  most  westerly  parts  of  Hudson's  Bay,  that  we 
are  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  distance  between  them.  The  most 
easterly  direction  of  the  Washington's  course  is  to  the  longitude  of 
237  degrees  east  of  Greenwich.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the 
master  of  that  vessel  did  not  make  any  astronomical  observations,  to 
give  a  just  idea  of  that  station ;  but,  as  we  have  those  made  by  Cap- 
tain Cook  at  Nootka  Sound,  we  may  be  able  to  form  a  conjecture, 
somewhat  approaching  the  truth,  concerning  the  distance  between 
Nootka  and  the  easternmost  station  of  the  Washington  in  the  north- 
ern archipelago ;  and  consequently  this  station  may  be  presumed  to 
be  in  the  longitude,  or  thereabout,  of  237  degrees  east  of  Green- 
wich." In  another  place,  Meares  speaks  of  the  proofs  brought  by 
the  Washington,  "  which  sailed  through  a  sea  extending  upwards  of 
eight  degrees  of  latitude,"  in  support  of  his  opinion,  that  the  north- 
western portion  of  America  was  a  collection  of  islands :  and  in  the 
ciiart  annexed,  "  the  sJcetch  of  the  trade  of  the  American  sloop  Wash- 
ington in  the  autumn  of  1789,"  is  represented  by  those  words  run- 
ning in  a  semi-oval  line  from  the  southern  entrance  of  the  Strait  of 
Fuca,  at  Cape  Flattery,  eastward,  to  the  longitude  of  237  degrees, 
then  north-westward,  to  the  55th  parallel  of  latitude,  then  west- 
28 


218 


kendrick's  passage  through  fuca's  strait.       [1789. 


ward,  through  the  passage  north  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  to  the 
Pacific.  The  sea  through  which  the  track  extends  is  represented 
as  unlimited  in  the  east,  and  communicating,  in  the  west,  with  the 
Pacific  by  channels  between  islands :  no  pretension  to  accuracy  is, 
however,  made  in  this  part  of  the  chart,  the  object  being  merely  to 
show  that  the  Washington  sailed  from  the  southern  entrance  of  tlie 
strait  eastward  to  the  longitude  of  237  degrees,  and  northward 
to  the  latitude  of  55  degrees. 

The  name  of  the  person  under  whose  command  the  passage 
was  said  to  have  been  effected  is  not  given  ;  but.  Gray  being 
frequently  mentioned  by  Meares,  in  his  narrative  and  accompanying 
papers,  as  the  captain  of  the  Washington,  it  was  naturally  supposed 
that,  if  that  sloop  did  pass  through  the  strait,  she  must  have  done  so 
under  the  command  of  Gray ;  and  when  Vancouver,  who  met  Gray 
near  Nootka  in  1792,  as  will  be  hereafter  related,  was  assured  by 
him  that  he  had  entered  the  opening,  but  had  only  advanced  fifty 
miles  within  it,  the  entire  erroneousness  of  the  account  given  by 
Meares  was  regarded  as  established. 

However,  about  the  time  of  Vancouver's  departure  from  England, 
an  angry  discussion  was  carried  on  through  the  medium  of  pam- 
phlets, between  Meares,  and  Dixon  the  captain  of  the  ship  Queen 
Charlotte,  (one  of  the  vessels  sent  to  the  Pacific  by  the  King 
George's  Sound  Company  of  London,)  in  consequence  of  the  se- 
vere remarks  made  by  Meares,  in  his  work,  on  the  character  of 
Dixon,  and  on  many  parts  of  his  journal,  which  had  been  pub- 
lished in  1789.  Dixon,  in  his  first  pamphlet,"^  particularly  attacked 
and  ridiculed  the  account  given  by  his  opponent  of  the  passage  of 
the  Washington,  and  sneeringly  summoned  him  to  <' inform  the 
public  from  what  authority  he  had  introduced  the  track  of  that  ves- 
sel into  his  chart."  To  this  Meares,  in  his  Answer,  f  says,  "  Mr. 
Neville,  a  gentleman  of  the  most  respectable  character,  who  came 
home  in  the  Chesterfield,  a  ship  in  the  service  of  the  East  India 
Company,  made  that  communication  to  me  which  I  have  communi- 
cated to  the  public.  Mr.  Kendrick,  who  commanded  the  Wash- 
ington, arrived  at  China,  with  a  very  valuable  cargo  of  furs,  previ- 
ous to  the  departure  of  the  Chesterfield ;  and  Mr.  Neville,  who  was 


*  Rem'>jkB  on  the  Voyagei  of  John  Meares,  in  a  Letter  to  that  Gentleman,  by 
George  Dixon,  late  Commander  of  the  Queen  Charlotte  in  a  Voyage  around  the 
World.    London,  1790. 

t  An  Answer  to  Mr.  George  Dixon,  &c.,  by  John  Meares;  in  which  the  Remarks 
of  Mr.  Dixon  are  fully  considered  and  refuted.    London,  1791. 


so 


1789.]  kendrick's  passage  through  the  strait  of  fuca.   219 

continually  with  him  during  that  interval,  and  received  the  particu- 
lars of  the  track  from  him,  was  so  obliging  as  to  state  it  to  me." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  passage  of  the  Washmgton  through  the 
strait,  as  reported  by  Meares,  took  place  under  Kendrick,  after  Gray 
had  quitted  the  command  of  that  sloop.  This  explanation  was 
published  in  London  subsequent  to  the  departure  of  Vancouver  for 
the  Pacific ;  and,  the  discussion  between  Meares  and  Dixon  being 
on  matters  in  which  the  public  could  have  taken  little  or  no  interest, 
it  was  doubtless  forgotten,  and  their  pamphlets  were  out  of  circu- 
lation, long  before  the  return  of  the  navigator  to  England. 

With  regard  to  tlie  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  account,  no  infor- 
mation has  been  obtained,  in  addition  to  that  afforded  by  Meares ; 
and,  although  little  dependence  can  be  placed  on  his  statements, 
when  unsupported  by  other  evidence,  yet  they  should  not  be 
rejected  in  this  case,  because  — first,  he  had  no  interest  in  ascribing 
any  thing  meritorious  to  citizens  of  the  United  States,  whom  he 
uniformly  mentions  with  contempt  or  dislike  in  his  work,  and 
accuses  of  taking  part  with  the  Spaniards  against  his  vessels; 
— ■  secondly,  the  subject  was  one  with  which  he  was  perfectly  con- 
versant, and  on  which  he  would  not  probably  have  been  deceived, 
or  have  committed  any  error  of  judgment ;  and,  —  lastly,  the  geog- 
raphy of  that  part  of  the  American  coasts  corresponds  exactly  with 
the  descriptions  given  by  Kendrick  of  what  he  had  seen,  though 
the  inferences  drawn  from  them  by  Meares  are  incorrect.  Thus 
the  easternmost  part  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca  is  now  known  to  be  in 
the  meridian  of  237  J  degrees  east  from  Greenwich,  and  under  the 
parallel  of  48J  degrees,  from  the  intersection  of  which  lines  the 
coast  of  the  continent  runs  north-westward,  through  ten  degrees  of 
latitude,  penetrated  by  numerous  inlets,  and  bordered  by  thousands 
of  islands;  so  that  a  navigator,  sailing  along  this  coast,  without 
tracing  to  their  terminations  all  these  channels  and  inlets,  might 
well  have  supposed  himself  in  a  sea  extending  far  on  either  side, 
and  filled  with  islands. 

Under  these  circumstances,  Kendrick  is  to  be  considered  as  the 
first  person,  belonging  to  a  civilized  nation,  who  sailed  through  the 
Strait  of  Fuca,  after  its  discovery  by  the  Greek  pilot,  in  1592. 

Vancouver  did  not  reach  the  north-west  coasts  of  America  until 
March,  1792.  In  the  mean  time,  the  Spaniards  had  resumed  their 
position  at  Nootka  Sound,  and  formed  another  establishment  in  its 
vicinity ;  and  several  voyaged  of  discovery  had  been  made  by  their 
navigators  along  those  coasts.     The   Spanish  government  was, 


■^vnp-^MwMiiH 


220 


;«  1.. 


VOYAGE  OF  riDALGO. 


[1790 


indeed,  then  seriously  directing  its  attention  to  the  discovery  and 
occupation  of  the  territories  north  of  its  settlements  in  California, 
agreeably  to  the  plan  devised  in  1765,  and  with  the  same  object 
of  preventing  those  territories  from  falling  into  the  possession  of 
other  nations ;  and,  for  these  purposes,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  was 
directed  to  employ  every  means  at  his  disposal.  Martinez  was, 
indeed,  deprived  of  his  command,  immediately  on  his  arrival  in 
San  Bias,  in  December^  1789:  but  his  vessels,  including  the 
Princess  Royal,  which  had  been  taken  from  the  English  in  the 
preceding  summer,  were  sent  back  to  Nootka  Sound,  under  Cap- 
tain Francisco  Elisa,  in  the  spring  of  1790 ;  and  preparations  were 
immediately  begun  for  a  permanent  establishment  on  Friendly 
Cove. 

As  soon  as  the  first  arrangements  for  this  purpose  were  completed, 
Elisa  despatched  Lieutenant  Salvador  Fidalgo,  in  the  schooner  San 
Carlos,  to  examine  the  coasts  occupied  by  the  Russians,  and  inquire 
into  the  proceedings  of  that  nation  in  America.  Fidalgo  accord- 
ingly sailed  for  Prince  William's  Sound,  in  which,  and  in  Cook's 
River,  he  spent  nearly  three  months,  engaged  in  surveying  and 
in  visiting  the  Russian  establishments;  his  provisions  being  then 
exhausted,  he  took  his  departure  for  San  Bias,  where  he  arrived  on 
the  14th  of  November.  The  geographical  information  obtainel  by 
him  was  scanty ;  and  the  only  news  which  he  brought  back, 
respecting  the  proceedings  of  the  Russians,  was,  that  they  had 
formed  an  establishment  on  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  that  a 
ship  had  passed  that  bay  from  Kamtchatka,  on  an  exploring  expe- 
dition towards  the  east.* 

The  Russian  ship,  thus  mentioned  by  Fidalgo,  was  one  of  those 
which  had  been  begun  at  Ochotsk  in  1785,  by  order  of  the  empress 
Catharine,  for  a  f  "  secret  astronomical  and  geographical  expedition, 
to  navigate  the  Frozen  Ocean,  and  describe  its  coasts,  and  to 
ascertain  the  situation  of  the  islands  in  the  sea  between  the  conti- 
nents of  Asia  and  America."  For  this  expedition,  a  number  of 
officers  and  men  of  science,  from  various  parts  of  Europe,  were 
engaged ;  and  the  command  was  intrusted  to  Joseph  Billings,  an 
Englishman,  who  had  accompanied  Cook,  in  his  last  expedition,  as 
assistant  astronomer :  but  the  preparations  proceeded  so  slowly,  in 
consequence  of  the  want  of  every  thing  requisite  for  the  purpose  at 


2  the  documents  obtained  from 


"  Manuscript  journal  of  the  voyage  of  Fidalgo, . 
the  hydrographical  department  of  Madrid, 
t  Narrative  of  the  Russian  expedition  under  '  Jhh^j,  by  Martin  Sauer. 


1790.] 


VOYAGES    OF    BILLINGS    AND    QUIMPEK. 


221 


Ochotsk,  that  the  vessels  were  not  ready  for  sea  until  1789,  and 
then  one  of  them  was  wrecked  immediately  after  leaving  the  port. 
With  the  other  vessel  Billings  took  his  departure,  on  the  2d  of 
May,  1790,  and  sailed  eastward,  stopping,  in  his  way,  at  Unalashka, 
Kodiak,  and  Prince  William's  Sound,  as  far  as  Mount  St.  Elias ; 
but  there  his  provisions  began  to  fail,  and  he  returned  to  Petro- 
pawlowsk,  soon  after  reaching  which  he  abandoned  the  command 
of  the  enterprise.  In  the  following  year,  the  same  vessel,  with 
another,  which  had  been  built  in  Kamtchatka,  quitted  the  Bay  of 
Avatscha,  under  Captains  Hall  and  Sarytscheff,  neither  of  whom 
advanced  beyond  Bering's  Strait  on  the  north,  or  Aliaska  on  the 
east,  or  collected  any  information  of  value  within  thiL  ^^'  nits.  A 
melancholy  picture  of  the  sufferings  experienced  in  these  vessels 
has  been  presented  in  the  narrative  of  Martin  Sauer,  a  German, 
who,  in  an  unlucky  moment,  agreed  to  act  as  secretary  to  the  expe- 
dition :  another  account,  contradicting  that  of  Sauer  in  many 
particulars,  has  been  published  by  Sarytscheff,  who  attributes  the 
failure  of  the  enterprise  to  the  incapacity  of  Billings. 

In  the  summer  of  1790,  an  attempt  was  also  made,  by  the 
Spaniards,  to  explore  the  supposed  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca.  For 
that  purpose,  Elisa,  the  commandant  of  Nootka,  detached  Lieu- 
tenant Quimper,  in  the  sloop  Princess  Royal,  who  traced  the  pas- 
Hiigo  in  an  eastwardly  direction,  examining  both  its  shores,  to  the 
<liHlanco  of  about  a  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth,  where  it  was 
observed  to  branch  off  into  a  number  of  smaller  passages,  towards 
tlio  south,  the  east,  and  the  north,  some  of  which  were  channels 
lictwcen  islands,  while  others  appeared  to  extend  far  into  the 
interior.  Quimper  was  unable,  from  want  of  time,  to  penetrate 
any  of  these  passages ;  and  he  could  do  no  more  than  note  the 
positions  of  their  entrances,  and  of  several  harbors,  all  of  which 
are  now  well  known,  though  they  are  generally  distinguished  by 
names  different  from  those  assigned  to  them  by  the  Spaniards 
Among  these  passages  and  harbors  were  the  Canal  de  Caamano, 
afterwards  named  by  Vancouver  Admiralty  Inlet;  the  Boca  de 
Flon,  or  Deception  Passage ;  the  Canal  de  Guemes,  and  Canal  de 
Ilaro,  which  may  still  be  found  under  those  names  in  English 
charts,  extending  northward  from  the  eastern  end  of  the  strait; 
Fort  (Quadra,  the  Port  Discovery  of  Vancouver,  said  to  be  one  of 
the  best  harbors  on  the  Pacific  side  of  America,  with  Port  Quimper, 
near  it  on  the  west ;  and  Port  Nunez  Gaona,  called  Poverty  Cove 
by  the  American  fur  traders,  situated  a  few  miles  east  of  Cape 


-TtrsTSSTi^a^ea 


VOTAGE    or    MALASPINA. 


11791 


Flattery,  where  the  Spaniards  attempted,  in  1792,  to  form  a  settle- 
ment. Having  performed  this  duty  as  well  as  was  possible  under 
the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed,  Quimper  returned  to 
Nootka,  where  he  arrived  in  the  beginning  o!  August.* 

On  the  2d  of  June,  1791,  Captain  Alexandro  Malaspina,t  an 
accomplished  Italian  navigator  in  the  service  of  Spain,  who  was 
then  engaged  in  an  expedition  of  survey  and  discovery  in  the 
Pacific,  arrived  on  the  coast,  near  Mount  Srn  J?icinto,  or  Edge- 
cumb,  with  his  two  ships,  the  Descubierta,  commanded  by  himself, 
and  the  Atrevida,  under  Captain  Bustamente.  The  principal  object 
of  their  visit  was  to  determine  the  question  as  to  the  existence  of 
the  Strait  of  Anian,  described  in  the  account  of  Maldonado's 
pretended  voyage,  the  credibility  of  which  had  been,  in  the  pre- 
ceding year,  affirmed,  by  the  French  geographer  Buache,  i.i  a 
memoir  read  before  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris.  With  this 
view,  they  carefully  examined  the  coast  between  Prince  William's 
Sound  and  Mount  Fairweather,  running  nearly  in  the  direction  of 
the  60th  parallel,  under  which  Maldonado  had  placed  the  entrance 
of  his  strait  into  the  Pacific,  searching  the  various  bays  and  inlets 
which  there  open  to  the  sea,  particularly  that  called  by  the  English 
Admiralty  Bay,  situated  at  the  foot  of  Mount  St.  Elias.  They 
found,  however,  —  doubtless  to  their  satisfaction,  —  no  passage 
leading  northward  or  eastward  from  the  Pacific ;  and  they  became 
convinced  that  the  whole  coast  thus  surveyed  was  bordered  by  an 
unbroken  chain  of  lofty  mountains.  Want  of  time  prevented  them 
from  continuing  their  examinations  farther  south ;  and  they  could 
only,  in  passing,  determine  the  latitudes  and  longitudes  of  a  few 


*  The  journal  of  this  voya^  is  among  the  manuscripts  obtained  from  the  hydro- 
graphical  department  of  Madrid :  annexed  to  it  is  a  memoir  on  the  manners,  customs, 
nnd  language,  of  the  Indians  about  Nootka  Sound,  translated  from  the  English  of 
Joseph  Ingraham,  the  mate  of  the  American  ship  Columbia,  who  wrote  it,  at  the 
request  of  Martinez,  in  1789. 

t  The  journals  of  Malaspina's  expedition  have  never  been  published.  A  sketch 
of  his  voyage  along  the  north-west  coasts  of  America  is  given  in  the  Introduction  to 
the  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdcs,  in  which  tlie  highest,  and,  in  some  places,  the 
most  extravagant,  praise  is  bestowed  on  the  officers  engaged  in  it.  Yet  —  will  it  be 
believed.'  —  the  name  ofMalaspina  does  not  appear  there  or  in  any  other  part  of  tht 
book.  The  unfortunate  commander,  having  given  some  offence  to  Godoy,  better 
known  as  the  Prince  of  the  Peace,  who  then  ruled  Spain  without  restriction,  was,  on 
his  return  to  Europe  in  1794,  confined  in  a  dungeon  at  Corunna,  and  there  kept  as  a 
prisoner  until  1802,  when  he  was  liberated,  after  the  peace  of  Amiens,  at  the  express 
desire  cf  Napoleon.  The  name  of  one  who  had  tiius  sinned  could  not  be  kllowed  to 
appear  on  the  pages  of  a  work  published  officially,  by  the  Spanish  government,  for 
the  purpon  of  vindicating  the  claima  of  ita  navigators. 


1791.1 


VOYAGE    OF    HARCHAND. 


223 


points  between  Mount  San  Jacinto  and  Nootka  Sound,  where  they 
arrived  on  the  13th  of  August. 

The  visit  made  to  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  in  the  summer 
of  1791,  by  Captain  Etienne  Marchand,  in  the  French  commercial 
ship  Solide,  from  Marseilles,  is  only  mentioned  on  account  of  the 
Introduction  by  Flcirieu  to  the  Journal  of  her  voyage,  to  which 
allusion  has  been  often  made  in  the  preceding  pages.  Marchand 
landed  on  the  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Guadalupe,  or  Norfolk  Sound, 
near  the  56th  degree  of  latitude,  where  he  remained  two  weeks,  en- 
gaged in  trading  with  the  natives ;  after  which  he  sailed  along  the 
coasts  southward,  occasionally  landing  and  making  observations,  to 
the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  thence  took  his  departure 
for  Canton.* 

In  the  mean  time,  nine  vessels  fr  tm  England  and  seven  from  the 
United  States  were  engaged  in  the  trade  on  the  north-west  coasts 
of  America.  Of  the  movements  of  the  English  traders  few  accounts 
have  been  made  public :  the  most  active  and  enterprising  among 
them  appears  to  have  been  Captain  Brown,f  of  the  ship  Butter- 
worth,  from  London,  to  whom  Vancouver  acknowledges  himself 
indebted  for>  useful  information  on  several  occasions.  In  what  man- 
ner the  British  navigator  treated  citizens  of  the  United  States,  from 
whom  he  derived  information  much  more  important,  will  be  shown 
hereafter. 

*  Respecting  the  places  thus  visited,  very  little  exact  information  is  to  be  derived 
from  the  Journal  of  Marchand,  though  hundreds  of  its  pages  are  devoted  to  philosoph- 
ical speculations  (doubtless  by  the  editor)  on  the  origin  and  capacity  of  the  north- 
west American  Indians,  their  languages  and  political  and  religious  institutions,  and 
political  and  religious  iiistitutions  in  general.  The  Journal,  indeed,  seems  to  have 
been  published  merely  in  order  to  afford  a  frame-work  for  the  comments  and  disqui- 
sitions of  the  editor,  Flcurieu,  which,  with  all  their  faults,  are  the  only  parts  of  the 
work  of  any  value. 

The  Introduction  to  this  Journal  is  a  memoir  read  by  Fleurieu  before  the  National 
Institute  at  Paris,  in  1797,  on  the  subject  of  the  discovery  of  the  north-west  coasts  of 
America,  in  which  he  presents  a  history,  with  reviews  of  all  other  accounts,  of  the 
several  exploring  voyages  made  by  people  of  civilized  nations  along  those  coasts, 
from  the  period  of  the  conquest  of  Mexico  by  the  Spaniards  to  the  year  1790,  when 
Marchand  began  his  voyage.  For  such  a  task,  Fleurieu  was  well  fitted,  by  his 
previous  labors,  his  general  science,  and  his  acquaintance  with  geography  and  mari- 
time affairs  :  his  memoir  is  elegantly  written,  and  his  accounts  and  opinions  arc,  for 
tiie  most  part,  clear,  fair,  and  liberal  towards  individuals  and  nations.  This  praise  is, 
however,  not  to  be  awarded  to  every  portion  of  his  work.  He  was  extravagant  in 
generalizing,  and  often  careless  in  the  examination  of  his  authorities,  in  consequence 
of  which  he  committed  numerous  errors ;  and  his  devotion  to  his  own  country,  and 
his  contempt  for  the  Spaniards  and  their  government,  led  him  frequently  to  make 
assertions  and  observations  at  variance  with  justice  and  truth. 

t  Brown  was  killed  by  the  natives,  at  Woahoo,  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
in  January,  1795. 


ATTACK    ON   THE    ELCONORA    AT    MOWEE. 


[1790. 


The  second  trading  adventure  to  the  North  Pacific  made  by  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  was  that  of  Captain  Metcalf,  who  sailed 
from  New  York  in  1788,  in  the  brig  Eleonora,  for  Canton,  and 
there  purchased  a  small  schooner,  which  he  named  the  Fair  Amcf 
icon,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  his  son,  a  youth  of  eighteen. 
With  these  vessels  he  arrived,  in  November,  1789,  at  Nootka  Sound, 
where  the  schooner  was  seized  by  the  Spanish  commandant  Marti- 
nez ;  but  she  was  soon  liberated,  unfortunately,  as  it  proved,  for 
her  captain  and  crew.  On  their  way  from  the  American  coast,  the 
vessels  were  separated.  The  Eleonora,  on  the  30th  of  January,  1790, 
reached  a  small  bay  in  Mowec,  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where 
she  anchored  ;  and,  on  the  same  night,  her  boat,  and  a  seaman  who 
was  sleeping  in  it,  were  taken  away  by  the  natives.  On  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  islanders  began  to  assemble  in  the  bay  in  canoes, 
and  on  the  shores,  in  great  numbers,  armed,  and  showing  evidently 
the  intention  to  take  the  vessel ;  and  one  of  them  was  seized  in  the 
act  of  endeavoring  to  strip  off  a  piece  of  lier  copper,  under  the  idea, 
as  he  confessed,  that  she  would  in  consequence  sink.  The  natives 
becoming  more  daring,  Metcalf  fired  on  them  with  grape,  and 
burnt  their  village ;  and,  having  thus  apparently  quieted  them,  he 
went  farther  up  the  bay,  in  order  to  obtain  water.  Three  or  four 
days  afterwards,  a  native  came  on  board,  who  offered  to  bring  back 
the  boat  and  the  sailor  for  a  certain  reward ;  his  offer  was  accepted, 
and,  on  the  following  day,  he  reappeared  with  the  rudder  of  the 
boat  and  some  of  the  bones  of  the  man,  who  had  been  sacrificed  to 
the  gods  of  the  island,  and  coolly  demanded  the  promised  recom- 
pense. This  demand  was  granted,  with  a  view  to  conciliation  ;  but 
the  opposite  effect  was  produced :  for  the  islanders,  supposing  that 
they  had  intimidated  the  Americans,  again  surrounded  the  ship  in 
their  canoes  in  vast  numbers.  Metcalf  thereupon,  either  from  exas- 
peration, or  from  his  seeing  no  other  mode  of  safety,  fired  all  his 
guns,  charged  with  grape  and  nails,  among  them,  and  killed,  as 
was  said,  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty ;  after  which  he  sailed 
for  Owyhee,  and  anchored  in  Karakakooa  Bay.* 


•  The  account  of  these  transactionB  ia  taken  principally  from  a  letter  written  by  a 
person  on  board  of  the  Eleonora,  which  was  published  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
United  States  soon  after  the  occurrences ;  and  from  the  manuscript  journal  of  Captain 
Ingraham,  which  confirms  all  the  statements  of  the  letter  writer.  Vancouver  (vol.  ii. 
p.  136)  represents  the  aifair  as  disadvantageously  to  the  Americans  as  possible,  accord- 
m{£r  to  his  constant  practice.  Jarvis,  in  his  History  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  gives 
tlie  account  as  handed  down  by  the  natives,  holding  Metcalf  up  to  view  as  a  monster 
uf  cruelty,  and  the  capture  of  the  Fair  American  as  "  an  awful  retribution." 


ii 


1790.]         CAPTURE    or   THE    FAIR   AMERICAN    AT    OWYHEE. 


395 


While  the  Eleonora  was  lying  in  this  bay,  the  natives  of  Owyhee 
signally  avenged  the  slaughter  of  their  brethren  at  Mowee. 

On  the  5th  of  February,  the  schooner  Fair  American,  which  had 
been  separated  from  the  brig,  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Toyahyah, 
(now  called  Kawaihae,)  on  the  north-west  side  of  Owyhee,  about 
thirty  miles  north  of  Karakakooa  Bay,  where  trade  was  begun  with 
the  natives.  As  these  people  conducted  themselves  peaceably,  they 
were  allowed  to  come  on  board  the  vessel  without  restriction ;  at 
length,  a  chief  named  Tamaahmoto,  or  Kamamoko,  appeared,  with 
a  number  of  attendants,  to  present  the  captain  with  a  feather  cap, 
and  while  in  the  act  of  placing  this  ornament  on  young  Metcalf's 
head,  he  seized  him  and  threw  him  overboard,  where  he  was  im- 
mediately killed  ;  the  other  seamen,  with  the  exception  of  one,  were 
in  like  manner  despatched,  and  the  schooner  was  then  drawn  on 
shore  and  rifled.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  this  was  done 
in  consequence  of  the  proceedings  of  the  captain  of  the  Eleonora  at 
Mowee,  or,  indeed,  that  those  proceedings  were  known  at  Owyhee 
when  the  schooner  was  taken  ;  on  the  contrary,  Tamaahmoto,  in 
1794,  assured  Vancouver  that  he  was  induced  to  act  as  he  did,  by 
the  ill-treatment  of  Metcalf,  who  had  whipped  him  severely  when 
at  Toyahyah,  in  1789. 

A  plan  was,  at  the  same  time,  formed  by  Tianna  and  Tamaha- 
maha,  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  island,  to  take  the  Eleonora.  The 
boatswain  of  that  brig,  named  John  Young,  happened,  howeve", 
to  be  on  shore,  and  there  met  with  two  English  seamen,  from  whom 
he  received  information  of  the  plan ;  and  they  succeeded  in  pre- 
vailing on  Tamahamaha  to  allow  them  to  write  a  letter  to  Captain 
Metcalf,  urging  his  immediate  departure,  on 'condition  that  they 
should  enter  the  service  of  the  native  chief.  Metcalf  took  their 
advice,  and  sailed  away  without  learning  the  news  of  his  son's  fate. 
Young  also  succeeded  in  saving  the  life  of  Isaac  Davis,  the  mate 
of  the  Fair  American,  who  had  been  severely  wounded  at  the  time 
of  the  capture  of  that  schooner ;  and  these  two  men  remained  in 
the  service  of  Tamahamaha  until  their  deaths.* 

The  ship  Columbia  returned  to  Boston  from  Canton,  under  the 
command  of  Gray,  on  the  10th  of  August,  1790,  as  already  men- 
tioned :  but  the  cargo  of  Chinese  articles  brought  by  her  was  insuf- 
ficient to  cover  the  expenses  of  her  voyage ;  and  her  owners  were 


*  Davis  died  in  1808.  Young  was,  for  many  years,  governor  of  Woahoo,  and  died 
in  1836,  nearly  ninety  years  old :  for  an  anecdote  illustrative  of  his  character,  see 
Commodore  Porter's  Journal  of  his  Cruise  in  the  Pacific,  vol.  ii.  p.  215. 

29 


SS6 


roTAac  or  inoraium  in  the  hope. 


[1791. 


'! 


10  little  satisfied  with  these  results,  that  some  of  them  sold  out  their 
shares  to  the  others,  who,  determining  to  persevere  in  the  enter* 
prise,  refitted  the  Columbia  for  a  new  voyage  of  the  same  kind. 
Before  her  departure,  however,  the  brig  Hope,  of  seventy  tons, 
which  had  also  been  equipped  for  the  North  Pacific  trade,  sailed 
from  Boston,  under  the  command  of  Joseph  Ingraham,  the  former 
mate  of  the  Columbia;  and  these  vessels  were  followed  by  the 
Hancock,  under  Captain  Crowel,  and  tlie  Jefferson,  under  Captain 
Roberts,  likewise  from  Boston,  and  the  Margaret,  under  Captain 
Magee,  from  New  York.  A  short  notice  of  Ingraham's  voyage  will 
bo  first  presented. 

The  brig  Hope  quitted  Boston  on  the  16th  of  September,  1790, 
and,  taking  the  usual  course  by  the  Cape  Verd  Islands  and  Brazil, 
she  arrived  on  the  13th  of  January,  1791,  at  the  entrance  of 
Berkeley  Sound,  or  Port  Soledad,  in  the  Falkland  Islands,  where 
she  found  a  Spanish  establishment  on  the  shore,  and  a  Spanish 
vessel  of  war  in  the  harbor.*  Ingraham  was  anxious  to  visit  the 
establishment,  but  the  commandant  was  unwilling  to  allow  him  to 
do  so,  though  he  furnished  him  liberally  with  provisions.  Quitting 
the  Falkland  Islands,  Ingraham  doubled  Cape  Horn,  and,  on  the 
19th  of  April,  he  discovered  six  islands  previously  unknown,  in  the 
centre  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  between  the  8th  and  the  10th  parallels 
of  latitude,!  to  which  he  gave  the  names  severally  of  Washington, 
Adams,  Franklin,  Knox,  Federal,  and  Lincoln ;  and  after  some  days 

*  Manuscript  journal  of  the  Hope's  voyage,  written  by  Ingraham. 

t  These  islands  are  situated  a  little  north  of  the  group  called  the  Marquesas  de 
Mendoza,  discovered  by  tlie  Spanish  navigator  Mendana,  in  1593,  and  about  six 
hundred  miles  north-east  of  Otaheite,  directly  in  the  course  of  vessels  sailing  from 
Cape  Horn  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  or  to  China,  to  which  they  offer  con- 
venient places  for  obtaining  water  and  other  refreshments.  They  were  not  seen  by 
Cook,  who  visited  the  Marquesas  in  1774 ;  nor  does  any  notice  of  them  appear  on 
any  chart  or  account  of  earlier  date  than  1791,  when  they  were  discovered  by  Ingra- 
ham, as  above  stated.  They  were  afterwards  seen  successively,  on  the  21st  of  June, 
1791,  by  Marchand,  in  the  French  ship  Solide,  who  named  them  lies  de  la  Rivolu- 
lion;  on  the  30th  of  June,  1792,  by  Hergest,  in  the  British  brig  Doidalus,  after  whom 
Vancouver  called  them  Hergest's  Islands,  though  he  was  well  aware  of  their  previous 
discovery  by  Ingraham ;  and  on  the  6th  of  March,  1793,  by  Roberts,  in  the  Jefferson, 
from  Boston,  who  bestowed  on  them  the  name  of  Washington's  Islands.  The  earliest 
notice  of  them  was  published  in  the  form  of  an  extract  from  Ingraham's  Journal,  in 
the  Massachusetts  Historical  Collection,  at  Boston,  in  1793 :  the  volume  of  the  same 
work,  for  1795,  contains  Roberts's  account  of  his  visit,  ailer  which  appeared,  in  suc- 
cession, the  accounts  of  Hergest  in  Vancouver's  Journal,  and  of  Marchand ;  and 
they  have  since  been  visited  and  described  by  Krusenstern,  Lisiansky,  Langsdorf, 
Porter,  Belcher,  Wilkes,  and  other  navigators.  Porter,  during  his  crufse  in  the  Pacific, 
in  the  Essex,  in  1813,  remained  some  time  at  Nooahivah,  the  largest  of  the  islands. 
The  recent  occupation  of  this  group  by  the  French  is  well  known. 


1791.] 


▼OTAOB   or   INflRAHAM   IN  THE    HOPE. 


227 


spent  in  examining  them,  he  took  his  course  for  Owyhee,  where  he 
arrived  on  the  20th  of  May. 

At  Owyhee,  the  Hope  was  visited  by  Tamahamaha,  whose  i)Ower 
was  then  rapidly  increasing,  as  well  as  by  his  rival  Tianna ;  and  both 
these  chiefs  were  earnest  in  their  solicitations  that  Ingraham  should 
go  on  shore  and  visit  their  towns.  The  American  captain,  however, 
feeling  some  distrust,  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  leave  his  vessel ;  and, 
after  obtaining  some  provisions  and  water,  he  sailed  to  the  adjacent 
Island  of  Mowee,  where  he  received  from  two  white  men,  who 
escaped  to  the  Hope,  the  news  of  the  capture  of  the  schooner  Fair 
American,  and  the  murder  of  her  crew  at  Owyhee,  in  February  of 
the  preceding  year.  He  then  had  reason  to  congratulate  himself  at 
having  resisted  the  invitations  of  Tamahamaha  and  Tianna,  as  he 
had  no  doubt  that  he  and  his  vessel  and  crew  woul:'  otherwise  have 
been  sacrificed  to  their  hatred  or  cupidity.  At  Mowee,  on  rhc 
26th,  the  brig  was  honored  by  the  presence  of  Titeree,  or  Kahi;  .iii, 
the  king,  and  Taio,  a  principal  chief;  and  Ingraham  obtained  from 
them  the  liberation  of  an  American  seaman,  who  had  been,  for 
some  time,  detained  as  prisoner  in  the  island.  On  the  following 
day,  at  Woahoo,  the  natives  surrounded  the  vessel  in  their  •  '.r:r<es, 
to  the  number  of  many  thousands,  evidently  with  the  inter  tion  of 
taking  her ;  aod  it  became  necessary  to  fire  several  muskets  upon 
them  before  she  could  be  freed  from  the  danger. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  Ingraham  left  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  on 
the  29th  of  the  same  month  he  dropped  anchor  in  a  harbor  on  the 
south-east  side  of  Queen  Charlotte's,  or  Washington's,  Island,  to 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Magee^s  Sound,  in  honor  of  one  of  the 
owners  of  his  vessel.  On  the  coasts  of  this'  island,  and  of  the  other 
islands,  and  the  continent  adjacent  on  the  north  and  east,  he  spent 
the  summer  in  trading,  and  collecting  information  as  to  the  geog- 
raphy and  natural  history,  and  the  languages^  m^^ners,  and  customs, 
of  the  inhabitants,  on  all  which  subjects  '•'><  journal  contains 
minute  and  interesting  details;  and  at  the  end  of  the  season  he 
took  his  departure  for  China,  where  he  arrived  on  the  1st  of  De- 
cember, 1791. 

At  Macao,  Ingraham  found  the  Fi-ench  ship  Solide,  under 
Captain  Marchand,  whose  visit  to  the  north-west  coast  of  Amer- 
ica, in  the  preceding  summer,  has  been  already  mentioned ;  and  he 
received  much  kindness,  which  he  acknowledges  by  grateful  expres- 
sions in  his  journal,  from  Roblet,  the  surgeon,  and  Chanal,  the  first 


228 


KENDRICK  S    SPECULATIONS    IN    THE    PACIFIC. 


[1791. 


officer  of  that  vessel.  To  these  gentlemen  he  also  communicated 
the  particulars  of  his  voyage ;  and  thus  they  learned,  to  their  great 
regret,  that  they  had  been  anticipated,  by  the  American  captain,  in 
a  discovery  which  was  expected  by  them  to  cast  considerable  iclat 
on  their  expedition.  Marchand  had,  in  the  month  of  June  previous, 
seen  a  group  of  islands  in  the  centre  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  of  which 
he  believed  himself  to  be  the  discoverer,  as  they  were  not  described 
in  any  narrative  or  chart  then  published ;  and,  under  this  impres- 
sion, he  named  them  lies  de  la  Revolution,  and  had  just  sent  an 
account  of  them  to  France,  which  was  submitted  formally  to  the 
National  Assembly :  on  examining  the  journal  of  the  Hope,  however, 
he  could  have  no  doubt  that  this  was  the  same  group  which  had 
been  found  by  Ingraham  in  April ;  and  the  fact  is  admitted,  though 
with  evident  reluctance,  in  the  narrative  of  his  voyage.*        « . 

Captain  Kendrick,  in  the  Washington,  which  had  been  altered 
into  a  brig,  also  arrived  at  Macao  while  the  Hope  was  lying  there. 
He  had  been  engaged,  since  1789,  in  various  speculations,  one  of 
which  was  the  collection  and  transportation  to  China  of  the  odor- 
iferous wood  called  sandal,  which  grows  in  many  of  the  tropical 
isknds  of  the  Pacific,  and  is  in  great  demand  throughout  the 
Celestial  Empire.  Vancouver  pronounced  this  scheme  chimerical ; 
but  experience  has  proved  that  it  was  founded  on  ju^t  calculations, 
and  the  business  has  been  ever  since  prosecuted  with  advantage, 
especially  by  the  Americans. 

Another  of  Kendrick's  speculations  has  not  hitherto  produced 
any  fruit.  In  the  summer  of  1791,  he  purchased  from  Maquinna, 
Wicanish,  and  other  chiefs,  several  large  tracts  of  land  near  Nootkra, 
Sound,  for  which  he  obtained  deeds  duly  marked  by  those  person- 
ages, and  witnessed  by  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Washington. 
Attempts  were  made,  by  the  owners  of  that  vessel,  to  sell  these 
lands  at  London  in  1793,  but  no  purchasers  were  found ;  and 
applications  have  since  been  addressed,  by  the  legal  representatives 
of  the  owners  and  of  Kendrick,  to  the  government  of  the  United 

•  The  editor,  Fleurieu,  thuB  ingenioushj  concludes  the  discussion  as  to  the  first  dis- 
covery of  the  islands :  "  Captain  Marchand  undoubtedly  cannot  aspire  to  the  honor 
of  priority ;  but,  like  the  American  captain  who  preceded  him,  he  has  not,  on  that 
account,  the  less  pretension  to  the  honor  of  the  discovery ;  for  he  could  not  know,  in 
the  month  of  June,  i791,  while  he  was  navigating  the  great  ocean,  that,  a  month  be- 
fore, another  navigator,  standing  in  the  same  course  with  himself,  had  made  the  same 
discovery."  The  king  of  tlie  French  has  nevertheless  been  pleased  to'bestow  a  gold 
medal  on  one  of  the  surviving  owners  of  the  Solide,  on  the  ground  of  the  discovery  of 
those  islands  by  Marchand,  as  expressly  declared  in  the  report  of  hia  minister  of  ma- 
rine, published  in  the  Moniteur  of  May  25th,  1843. 


1791.] 


SECOND    VOYAGE    OF    THE    COLUMBIA. 


229 


States,  for  a  confirmation  of  the  titlo.''*'  Ttiat  the  lands  were  thus 
sold  by  the  savage  chiefs,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt ;  and  Maquinna 
or  Wicanish  would  as  readily  have  conveyed  the  whole  of  America 
to  any  one  for  the  consideration  of  a  copper  kettle :  but  the  validity 
of  the  acquisition  will  scarcely  be  recognized  by  the  civilized  nation 
which  may  hereafter  hold  the  sovereignty  of  the  country  about 
Nootka  Sound.  Neither  Kendrick  nor  his  vessel  ever  returned  to 
America:  he  was  killed,  in  1793,  at  Karakakooa  Bay,  in  Owyhee, 
by  a  ball  accidentally  fired  from  a  British  vessel,  while  saluting  him. 

At  Canton,  Ingraham  disposed  of  his  furs  advantageously,  and 
vested  the  proceeds  in  teas,  which  he  sent  to  Boston  by  a  vessel 
chartered  for  the  purpose.  He  then  sailed,  on  the  3d  of  April,  for 
the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  and  spent  the  summer  in  trading 
in  and  about  Clueen  Charlotte's  Island,  which  was  then  the  principal 
resort  of  the  Americans. 

The  Columbia,  under  her  former  captain.  Gray,  left  Boston  on 
the  28th  of  September,  1790,  ten  days  after  the  departure  of  the 
Hope ;  f  and,  without  the  occurrence  of  any  thing  worthy  of  note 
on  her  way,  she  arrived  at  Clyoquot,  near  the  entrance  of  the  Strait 
of  Fuca,  on  the  5th  of  June,  1791.  Thence  she  proceeded,  in  a 
few  days,  to  the  eastern  side  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  on  which, 
and  on  the  coasts  of  the  continent  and  islands  in  its  vicinity,  she 
remained  until  September,  engaged  in  trading  and  exploring. 
During  this  time,  Gray  examined  many  of  the  inlets  and  passages 
between  the  54th  and  the  56th  parallels,  in  one  of  which  —  most 
probably  the  same  afterwards  called  by  Vancouver  the  Portland 


*  The  circular  addressed  by  the  owners  of  the  Washington,  on  this  occasion,  is  a 
curious  document.  It  is  written  in  four  languages,  and  is  couched  in  terms  the 
most  unspecific  which  could  have  been  selected.  The  *^  inhabitants  of  Europe"  are 
informed  that, "  in  1787,  Captain  J.  Kendrick,  while  prosecuting  an  advantageous 
voyage  with  the  natives  for  furs,  purchased  of  them,  for  the  owners,  a  tract  of  de- 
lightful country,  comprehending  four  degrees  of  latitude,  or  two  hundred  and  forty 
miles  square ; "  and  that "  such  as  may  bo  inclined  to  associate,  for  settling  a  com- 
monwealth on  their  own  code  of  laws,  on  a  spot  of  the  globe  nowhere  surpassed  in 
delightful  and  healthy  climate,  and  fertile  soil,  claimed  by  no  civilized  nation,  and 
purchased,  under  a  sacred  treaty  of  peace  and  commerce,  and  tor  a  valuable  considera- 
tion, of  the  friendly  natives,  may  have  the  best  opportunity  of  trying  the  result  of  such 
an  enterprise."  Of  the  situation  of  this  tract  of  delightful  country  we  learn  nothing 
from  the  circular,  except  that  it  lies  in  America.  The  deeds  for  the  lands  are  de- 
clared to  have  been  registered  in  the  ofilco  of  the  American  consul  at  Macao ;  and 
these  deeds,  or  some  of  them,  have  been  lately  published,  referring  only  to  the  terri- 
tories about  Nootka  Sound,  which,  though  including  all  the  dominions  of  the  chiefs 
conveying  them,  do  not  amount  to  one  twenty-fourth  part  of  two  hundred  and  forty 
miles  square. 

I  Log-Vook  of  the  Columbia,  from  September  S8th,  1790,  to  February  20.h,  1792. 


330 


THE   COIUHBIA   WINTERS    AT   CLTO^nOT. 


(n92. 


Canal— 'he  penetrated  from  its  entrance,  in  the  latitude  of  54 
degrees  33  minutes,  to  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  north- 
eastward, without  reaching  its  termination.  This  inlet  he  supposed 
to  be  the  Rio  de  Reyes  of  Admiral  Font6 ;  a  part  of  it  was  named 
by  him  Massacre  Cove,  in  commemoration  of  the  murder  of  Cas- 
well, the  second  mate,  and  two  seamen  of  his  vessel,  by  the 
natives,  on  its  shore,  on  the  22d  of  August.  Shortly  after  this 
melancholy  occurrence,  the  Columbia  fell  in  with  the  Hope,  and 
tlie  two  captains  communicated  to  each  other,  though  apparently 
with  some  reserve,  the  results  of  their  observations.  They  then 
separated,  Ingraham  going  to  China,  as  above  related,  while  Gray 
returned  to  Clyoquot. 

At  Clyoquot,  the  crew  of  the  Columbia  passed  the  winter  in  a 
fortified  habitation,  which  they  erected  on  the  shore  of  the  bay, 
and  called  Fort  Defiance ;  and  they  were  employed  in  building  a 
small  vessel,  which  was  launched,  and  named  the  Adventure. 
Whilst  prepa  ing  for  sea,  they  were  visited  by  Tatoochseatticus 
and  Wicanish,  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  surrounding  country, 
with  a  number  of  followers,  between  whom  and  a  Sandwich 
Islander  on  board  the  Columbia  it  soon  became  evident  that  some 
understanding  had  been  established.  Gray's  suspicions  being  ex- 
cited, he  questioned  the  Sandwich  Islander,  who  at  length  confessed 
that  the  Indians  had  formed  a  plan  for  the  seizure  of  the  vessels, 
and  the  murder  of  their  crews,  and  had  promised  to  spare  his  life, 
and  make  him  a  chief,  if  he  would  aid  them  by  wetting  the  priming 
of  all  the  guns  at  a  particular  time.  Thus  forewarned,  the  Ameri- 
cans were  on  their  guard ;  and  the  savages,  who  surrounded  the 
vessel  on  the  following  day,  were  kept  at  a  distance. 

In  the  spring  of  1792,  the  Adventure  sailed  for  Queen  Char- 
lotte's Island,  under  the  command  of  Haswell,  the  first  mate  of  the 
Columbia ;  and  Gray  took  his  departure  in  the  ship,  on  a  cruise 
southward  along  the  coasts  of  the  continent,  the  particulars  of  which 
will  appear  in  the  next  chapter. 


^.1 


-  ;■  ■•  / ,, . 


S31 


CHAPTER  XI. 


1792  TO  1796. 


Vaucouver  and  Broughton  arrive  on  the  American  Coasts  in  1792,  and  meet  with 
Gray,  who  informs  them  of  his  Discovery  of  the  Columbia  River  —  The  Strait  of 
Fuca  surveyed  by  Vancouver,  Galiano,  and  Valdes  —  Negotiations  between  Van- 
couver and  Quadra  at  Nootka  —  Vancouver's  Injustice  to  the  Americans  — 
Broughton's  Examination  of  the  lower  Part  of  the  Columbia  River  —  Vancou- 
ver's Proceedings  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  —  He  completes  the  Survey  of  the 
North- West  Coasts  of  America,  and  returns  to  England  —  The  Spaniards  abandon 
Nootka  —  Conclusions  with  Regard  to  the  Dispute  between  Great  Britain  and 
Spain,  and  the  Convention  of  1790. 

The  viceroy  of  Mexico,  count  de  Revillagigedo,  on  learning  the 
results  of  the  voyages  of  Fidalgo,  Quimper,  and  Malaspina,  along 
the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  ordered  three  other  vessels  to  be 
prepared,  for  continuing  the  exploration  of  those  coasts.  In  one  of 
them,  the  corvette  Aransasu,  Lieutenant  Jacinto  Caamano  was 
directed  to  seek,  particularly  near  the  53d  degree  of  latitude,  for 
the  mouth  of  the  Rio  de  Reyes,  through  which  Admiral  Fonte 
was  said  to  have  sailed,  in  1640,  north-eastward,  into  a  lake  com- 
municating with  the  Atlantic;  while  Lieutenants  Dionisio  Alcala 
Galiano  and  Cayetano  Valdes  were  to  survey  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  in 
the  small  schooners  Sutil  and  Mexicana.  'These  vessels  sailed  from 
San  Bias  in  the  spring  of  1792,  and  arrived  in  May  at  Nootka  Sound, 
whence  they  soon  after  departed  on  their  respective  expeditions.* 

Captain  Bodega  y  Quadra,  the  superintendent  of  the  marine 
department  of  San  Bias,  was  at  the  same  time  despatched  to 
Nootka,  to  take  the  command  of  the  forces  in  that  quarter,  and  to 
treat  with  Captain  Vancouver,  who  was  expected  to  arrive  there  in 
the  following  summer,  with  regard  to  the  lands  and  buildings 
claimed  by  British  subjects,  in  virtue  of  the  first  and  second  articles 
of  the  convention  of  1790.     He  was  instructed,  in  case  it  should 

*  The  works  which  have  served  principally  as  authorities  for  the  accounts  in  this 
chapter  are  —  the  journal  of  Captain  George  Vancouver,  three  vols.  4to.,  published 
at  London  in  1797  —  the  journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes  —  and  the  manuscript  journal 
of  the  voyage  of  the  American  brig  Hope,  written  by  her  captain,  J.  Ingraham  —  with 
others,  to  which  reference  will  be  made 


232 


VANCOUVER    REACHES    THE    NORTH-WEST    COAST. 


[1792. 


be  requisite,  to  abandon  Nootka,  and  withdraw  all  the  Spanish 
forces  and  settlers  to  some  convenient  point  of  the  coast  farther 
south ;  and,  in  anticipation  of  such  a  contingency,  a  vessel  was  sent 
from  San  Bias,  under  the  command  of  Fidalgo,  to  seek  for  a  proper 
spot,  and  make  preparations  on  it  for  a  permanent  establishment. 

Vancouver  and  Broughton  reached  the  American  coast  in  April, 
1792,  a  little  south  of  Cape  Mendocino,  whence  they  sailed  slowly 
northward,  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  which  they  were  instructed  par- 
ticularly to  explore.  On  their  way,  they  carefully  examined  the 
shores,  and  determined  the  geographical  positions  of  all  the  most 
prominent  points,  comparing  the  results  of  their  observations  with 
those  obtained  by  Cook  and  others  who  had  preceded  them.  Near 
the  43d  degree  of  latitude,  they  sought  in  vain  for  the  river  which 
Martin  de  Aguilar  was  said  to  have  seen,  entering  the  Pacific  there- 
abouts, in  1603 ;  and  they  appeared  inclined  to  admit  as  identical 
with  the  Cape  Blanco  of  that  navigator,  a  high,  craggy  promontory, 
in  the  latitude  of  42  degrees  52  minutes,  to  which  they,  however, 
did  not  scruple  to  assign  the  name  of  Cape  Orford. 

Vancouver  also  observed  with  attention  the  Deception  Bay  of 
Meares,  which  was  represented  on  Spanish  charts  as  the  mouth  of 
a  river.  Of  this  part  of  his  voyage,  he  presents  the  following 
account  in  his  journal,  under  date  of 

"  April  27th.  —  Noon  brought  us  up  with  a  conspicuous  point 
of  land,  composed  of  a  cluster  of  hummocks,  moderately  high,  and 
projecting  into  the  sea.  On  the  south  side  of  this  promontory  was 
the  appearance  of  an  inlet,  or  small  river,  the  land  not  indicating  it 
to  be  of  any  great  extent,  nor  did  it  seem  to  be  accessible  for  ves- 
sels of  our  burden,  as  the  breakers  extended  from  the  above  point, 
two  or  three  miles  into  the  ocean,  until  they  joined  those  on  t!ie 
beach,  nearly  four  leagues  farther  south.  On  reference  to  Mr. 
Meares's  description  of  the  coast  south  of  this  promontory,  I  was 
at  first  inclined  to  believe  it  was  Cape  Shoalwater ;  but,  on  ascer- 
taining its  latitude,  I  presumed  it  to  be  that  which  he  calls  Cape 
Disappointment,  and  the  opening  south  of  it  Deception  Bay.  This 
cape  we  found  to  be  in  latitude  of  46  degrees  19  minutes,  longi- 
tude 236  degrees  6  minutes  [east].  The  sea  had  now  changed 
from  its  natural  to  river-colored  water,  the  probable  consequence 
of  some  streams  falling  into  the  bay,  or  into  the  opening  north  of 
it,  through  the  low  land.  Not  considering  this  opening  worthy  of 
more  attention,  I  continued  our  pursuit  to  the  north-west,  being 
desirous  to  embrace  the  advantages  of  the  now  prevailing  breeze  and 
pleasant  weather,  so  favorable  to  an   examination  of  the  coasts." 


1792.]    VANCOUVER   BIEETS   GRAY   NEAR  THE    STRAIT   OF    FDCA.     233 

Vancouver  accordingly  sailed  onwards,  to  the  entrance  of  the 
Strait  of  Fuca,  which  he  was  eager  to  explore;  having,  as  he 
believed,  ascertained  that  "  the  several  large  rivers  and  capacious 
inlets,  that  have  been  described  as  discharging  their  contents  into 
the  Pacific,  between  the  40th  and  the  48th  degrees  of  north  lati- 
tude, were  reduced  to  brooks  insufficient  for  our  vessels  to  navigate, 
or  to  bays  inaccessible  as  harbors  for  refitting."  Again  he  says, 
"  Considering  ourselves  now  on  the  point  of  commencing  an  exami- 
nation of  an  entirely  new  region,  I  cannot  take  leave  of  the  coast 
already  known,  without  obtruding  a  short  remark  on  that  part  of 
the  continent,  comprehending  a  space  of  nearly  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  leagues,  on  which  our  inquiries  had  been  lately  employed, 
under  the  most  fortunate  and  favorable  circumstances  of  wind  and 
weather.  So  minutely  has  this  extensive  coast  been  inspected,  that  the 
surf  has  been  constantly  seen  to  brealc  on  its  shores  from  the  mast- 
head;  and  it  was  but  in  a  few  small  intervals  only  where  our 
distance  precluded  its  being  visible  from  the  deck.  Whenever  the 
weather  prevented  our  making  free  with  the  shore,  or  on  our  haul- 
ing off  for  the  night,  the  return  of  fine  weather  and  of  daylight 
uniformly  brought  us,  if  not  to  the  identical  spot  we  had  departed 
from,  at  least  within  a  few  miles  of  it,  and  never  beyond  the 
northern  limits  of  the  coast  which  we  had  previously  seen.  An 
examination  so  directed,  and  circumstances  happily  concurring  to 
permit  its  being  so  executed,  afforded  the  most  complete  opportunity 
of  determining  its  various  turnings  and  windings,  as  also  the  position 
of  all  its  conspicuous  points,  ascertained  by  meridional  altitudes  for 
the  latitude,  and  observations  for  the  chronometer,  which  we  had  the 
good  fortune  to  make  constantly  once,  and  in  general  twice,  every 
day,  the  preceding  one  only  excepted.  It  must  be  considered  a  very 
singular  circumstance,  that,  in  so  great  an  extent  of  sea-coast,  we 
should  not  until  now  have  seen  the  appearance  of  any  opening  in  its  shore 
which  presented  any  certain  prospect  of  affording  a  shelter,  the  whole 
coast  forming  one  compact  and  nearly  straight  barrier  against  the  sea." 

On  the  same  day,  the  29th  of  April,  1792,  Vancouver  writes  in 
his  journal,  "  At  four  o'clock,  a  sail  was  discovered  to  the  westward, 
standing  in  shore.  This  was  a  very  great  novelty,  not  having  seen 
any  vessel  but  our  consort  during  the  last  eight  months.  She  soon 
hoisted  American  colors,  and  fired  a  gun  to  leeward.  At  six  we 
spoke  her ;  she  proved  to  be  the  ship  Columbia,  commanded  by 
Captain  Robert  Gray,  belonging  to  Boston,  whence  she  had  been 
absent  nineteen  months.  Having  little  doubt  of  his  being  the  same 
30 


234 


# 


GRAY  S    ACCOUNT    OF    HIS    DISCOVERIES. 


[1792. 


person  who  had  formerly  commanded  the  sloop  Washington,  I 
desired  he  would  bring  to,  and  sent  Mr.  Puget  and  Mr.  Menzies  on 
board,  to  acquire  such  information  as  might  be  serviceable  in  our 
future  operations.  On  the  return  of  the  boat,  we  found  our  con- 
jectures had  not  been  ill  grounded ;  that  this  was  the  same  gentle- 
man who  had  commanded  the  sloop  Washington,  at  the  time,  we 
are  informed,  she  had  made  a  very  singular  voyage  behind  Nootka. 
It  was  not  a  little  remarkable,  that,  on  our  approach  to  the  entrance 
of  this  inland  sea,  we  should  fall  in  with  the  identical  person  who, 
it  was  said,  had  sailed  through  it.  His  relation,  however,  differed 
very  materially  from  that  published  in  England.  It  is  not  possible 
to  conceive  any  one  to  be  more  astonished  than  was  Mr.  Gray,  on 
his  being  made  acquainted  that  his  authority  had  been  quoted,  and 
the  track  pointed  out  that  he  had  been  said  to  have  made  in  the 
sloop  Washington ;  in  contradiction  to  which,  he  assured  the  of- 
ficers that  he  had  penetrated  only  fifty  miles  into  the  straits  in 
question,  in  an  east-south-east  direction ;  that  he  found  the  passage 
five  leagues  wide,  and  that  he  understood  from  the  natives  that  ttie 
opening  extended  a  considerable  distance  to  the  northward ;  that 
this  was  all  the  information  he  had  acquired  respecting  this  inland 
sea,  and  that  he  returned  into  the  ocean  by  the  same  way  he  had 
entered  at.  The  inlet  he  supposed  to  be  the  same  that  De  Fuca 
had  discovered,  which  opinion  seemed  to  be  universally  received  by 
all  the  modern  visitors.  He  likewise  informed  them  of  his  having 
been  off  the  mouth  of  a  river,  in  the  latitude  of  46  degrees  10 
minutes,  where  the  outset  or  reflux  was  so  strong  as  to  prevent  his 
entering  for  nine  days.  This  was  probably  the  opening  passed  by 
us  on  the  forenoon  of  the  27th,  and  was  apparently  inaccessible, 
not  from  the  current,  but  from  the  breakers  that  extended  across  it. 
He  had  also  entered  another  inlet  to  the  northward,  in  latitude  of 
54^  degrees,  in  which  he  had  sailed  to  the  latitude  of  56  degrees, 
without  discovering  its  termination.  The  south  point  of  entrance 
into  De  Fuca's  Straits  he  stated  to  be  in  48  degrees  24  minutes ; 
and  he  conceived  our  distance  from  it  to  te  about  eight  leagues. 
The  last  winter  he  had  spent  in  Port  Cox,  or,  as  the  natives  call  it, 
Clyoquot,  from  whence  he  had  sailed  but  a  few  days,"  (&c. 
.,  The  part  of  this  account  relating  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca  appears 
to  have  be6n  received  with  much  satisfaction  by  Vancouver,  as  it 
seemed  to  assure  him  that  he  had  not  been  anticipated  in  the 
exploration  of  that  passage ;  to  Gray's  statement  of  his'discoverv  of 
a  river  emptying  into  the  Pacific,  in  the  latitude  of  46  degrees  10 


t  AI 


I     !  ,'' 


ftS. 


1792.1  ghat's  account  op  his  discoveries.  235 

minutes,  he  gave  little,  or  rather  no  credit,  being  content  with  his 
own  examination  of  that  part  of  the  coast.  On  the  day  after  his 
mooting  with  the  Columbia,  he  writes,  "  The  river  mentioned  by 
Mr.  Gray  should,  from  the  latitude  he  assigned  to  it,  have  existence 
in  the  bay  south  of  Cape  Disappointment.  This  we  passed  in  the 
forenoon  of  the  27th  ;  and,  as  I  then  observed,  if  any  inlet  or  river 
Hhould  be  found,  it  must  be  a  very  intricate  one,  and  inaccessible  to 
vessels  of  our  burden,  owing  to  the  reefs  and  broken  water,  which 
then  appeared  in  its  neighborhood.  Mr.  Gray  stated  that  he  had 
been  several  days  attempting  to  enter  it,  which,  at  length,  he  was 
unable  to  effect,  in  (ionsequence  of  a  very  strong  outset.  This  is 
a  phenomenon  difficult  to  account  for,  as,  in  most  cases  where  there 
are  outsets  of  such  strength  on  a  sea-coast,  there  are  corresponding 
tides  setting  in.  Be  that,  however,  as  it  may,  /  was  thoroughly 
convinced,  as  were  also  most  persons  of  observation  on  board,  that 
we  could  not  possibly  have  passed  any  safe  navigable  opening,  harbor, 
or  place  of  security  for  shipping,  on  this  coast,  from  Cape  Mendocino 
to  the  promontory  of  Classet,  [Cape  Flattery,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
Strait  of  Fuca;]  nor  had  we  any  reason  to  alter  our  opinions, 
notwithstanding  that  theoretical  geographers  have  thought  proper 
to  assort  in  that  space  the  existence  of  arms  of  the  ocean  commu- 
nicating with  a  mediterranean  sea,  and  extensive  rivers  with  safe 
and  convenient  ports."  'i    n  •■■'''         '' 

Having  thus  recorded  his  convictions,  the  British  navigator 
proceeded  to  survey  the  Strait  of  Fuca ;  whilst  the  American  fur 
trader  sailed  towards  the  mouth  of  the  river,  into  which  he  resolved, 
if  possible,  to  effect  an  entrance. 

After  parting  with  the  English  ships.  Gray  sailed  along  the  coast 
of  the  continent  to  the  south,  and,  on  the  7th  of  May,  he  "saw 
an  entrance  which  had  a  very  good  appearance  of  a  harbor,"  in  the 
latitude  of  46  degrees  58  minutes.  Passing  through  this  entrance, 
ho  found  himself  in  a  bay  "  well  sheltered  from  the  sea  by  long 
Hund-bars  and  spits,"  where  he  remained  at  anchor  three  days, 
engaged  in  trading  with  the  natives ;  and  he  then  resumed  his 
voyage,  bestowing  on  the  place  thus  discovered  the  name  of  Bul- 
finch*s  Harbor,  in  honor  of  one  of  the  owners  of  his  ship. 

At  daybreak  on  the  Uth,  after  leaving  Bulfinch's  Harbor,  Gray 
observed  "  the  entrance  of  his  desired  port,  bearing  east-south-east, 
distant  six  leagues ; "  and  running  into  it,  with  all  sails  set,  between 
the  breakers,  (which  Meares  and  Vancouver  pronounce  impassable,) 
he  anchored,  at  one  o'clock,  "  tn  a  large  river  of  fresh  water,"  ten 


') 


i. ) 


236 


WHO   DISCOVERED  THE    COLUMBIA  ? 


[1792. 


miles  above  its  mouth.  At  this  spot  he  remained  three  days,  en- 
gaged in  trading  and  filling  his  casks  with  water,  and  then  sailed 
up  the  river  about  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  along  its  northern  shore ; 
where,  finding  that  he  could  proceed  no  farther,  from  having  "  taken 
the  wrong  channel,"  he  again  came  to  anchor.  During  the  week 
which  followed,  he  made  several  attempts  to  quit  the  river,  but 
was  constantly  baffled,  until,  at  length,  on  the  20th,  he  crossed  the 
bar  at  the  mouth,  by  beating  over  it  with  a  westerly  wind,  and 
regained  the  Pacific.'"' 

On  leaving  the  river.  Gray  gave  to  it  the  name  of  his  ship  —  the 
Columbia  —  which  it  still  bears ;  though  attempts  are  made  to  fix 
upon  it  that  of  Oregon,  on  the  strength  of  the  accounts  which 
Carver  pretended  to  have  collected,  in  1766,  among  the  Indians  of 
the  Upper  Mississippi,  respecting  a  River  Oregon,  rising  near  Lake 
Superior,  and  emptying  into  the  Strait  of  Anian.\  The  extremity 
of  the  sand-bank,  projecting  into  the  sea  on  the  south  side  of  its  en- 
trance,  was  called  by  Gray  Point  Adams ;  and  he  assigned  the  name 
of  Cape  Hancock  to  the  opposite  promontory,  on  the  north  side,  be- 
ing ignorant  that  Meares  had  already  called  it  Cape  Diaappaintment, 
in  token  of  the  unsuccessful  result  of  his  search  for  the  river. 

The  principal  circumstances  relating  to  the  discovery  of  this 
river,  the  greatest  which  enters  the  Pacific  from  America,  have 
now  been  fairly  presented.  It  has  been  shown  —  that  the  opening 
through  which  its  waters  are  discharged  into  the  ocean  was  first 
seen  in  August,  1776,  by  the  Spanish  navigator  Heceta,{  and  was 
distinguished  on  Spanish  charts,  within  the  thirteen  years  next 
following,  as  the  mouth  of  the  River  San  Roque  —  that  it  was 
examined  in  July,  1788,  by  Meares,<^  who  quitted  it  with  the  con- 
viction that  no  river  existed  there  —  and  that  this  opinion  of 
Meares  was  subscribed,  without  qualification,  by  Vancouver,  after  he 
had  minutely  examined  that  coast,  ''  under  the  most  favorable  con- 
ditions of  wind  and  weather,"  and  notwithstanding  the  assurances 
of  Gray  to  the  contrary.  Had  Gray,  after  parting  with  the  English 
ships,  not  returned  to  the  river,  and  ascended  it  as  he  did,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  it  would  have  long  remained  unknown ; 
for  the  assertions  of  Vancouver  that  no  opening,  harbor,  or  place  of 
refuge  for  vesseb,  was  to  be  found  between  Cape  Mendocino  and  the 


*  See  the  extract  from  the  log-book  of  the  Columbia,  containing  the  account  of 
the  entrance  of  Gray  into  the  river,  among  the  Proofs  and  Illustrationa,  in  the  latter 
part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  E,  No.  2. 

t  See  p.  142.  t  See  p.  120.  $  See  p.  177. 


1792.] 


WHO   DI800TERED   THE    COLUMBIA? 


237 


Strait  of  Fuca,  and  that  this  part  of  the  coast  formed  one  compact, 
solid,  and  nearly  straight,  barrier  against  the  sea,  would  have  served 
completely  to  overthrow  the  evidence  of  the  American  fur  trader, 
and  to  prevent  any  further  attempts  to  examine  those  shores,  or 
even  to  approach  them.* 

From  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  Gray  sailed  to  the  east 
coast  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  near  which  his  ship  struck  on  a 
rock,  and  was  so  much  injured  that  she  was  with  difficulty  kept 
afloat  until  she  reached  Nootka  Sound,  where  the  damage  was 
repaired.  The  Hope  also  arrived  at  Nootka  at  this  time,  and 
Gray  communicated  the  particulars  of  his  recent  discoveries  to 
Ingraham,  and  to  the  Spanish  commandant  Quadra,  to  whom  he 
also  gave  charts  and  descriptions  of  Buliinch's  Harbor,  and  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  On  this  occtsion,  moreover,  the  two 
Anitsrican  captains  addressed  to  Quadra,  at  his  request,  a  letter  f 
containing  a  narrative  of  the  transactions  at  Nootka  in  1789,  to 
which  particular  reference  will  be  hereafter  made.  Having  soon 
completed  their  business  on  the  north-west  coasts.  Gray  and  Ingra- 
ham departed  severally  for  Canton,  in  September,  and  thence  they 
sailed  to  the  United  States.  % 


*  it  was,  nevertheless,  insisted,  on  the  part  of  the  British  government,  in  a  discus- 
sion with  the  United  States,  in  1826,  that  the  merit  of  discovering  the  Columbia 
belongs  to  Meares!  "that,  in  1788,  four  years  before  Gray  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  River,  Mr.  Meares,  a  lieutenant  of  ihe  royal  navy,  who  had  been  sent 
by  the  East  India  Company  on  a  trading  expedition  to  the  north-west  coast  of 
America,  had  already  minutely  explored  the  coast  from  the  49th  to  the  54th  degree 
of  north  latitude  j  had  taken  formal  possession  of  the  Straits  of  De  Fuca  in  the  name 
of  his  sovereign ;  had  purchased  land,  trafficked  and  formed  treaties  with  the  natives ; 
and  had  actually  entered  the  Bay  of  the  Columbia,  to  the  northern  headland  of 
which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Disappointment,  a  name  which  it  bears  to  this 
day ; "  and  that "  if  any  claim  to  these  countries,  as  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  is  to  be  deduced  from  priority  of  the  discovery,  the  above  exposition 
of  dates  and  facts  suffices  to  establish  that  claim  in  favor  of  Great  Britain,  on  a  basio 
too  firm  to  be  shaken.  It  must  indeed  be  admitted,"  continue  the  British  plenipo- 
tentiaries, "  that  Mr.  Gray,  finding  himself  in  the  bay  formed  by  the  discharge  of 
the  waters  of  the  Columbia  into  the  Pacific,  was  the  first  to  ascertain  that  this  bay 
formed  the  outlet  of  a  great  river — a  discovery  which  had  escaped  Lieutenant  Meares, 
when,  in  1788,  four  years  before,  he  entered  the  same  bay."  The  truth  in  the  last  of 
these  assertions  atones  for  the  errors  in  those  which  precede,  and  counteracts  the 
impression  which  the  whole  was  intended  to  produce.  —  See  the  statement  presented 
by  Messrs.  Huskisson  and  Addington  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  in  1826,  among  the  Proofs 
and  Illustrations,  in  the  latter  part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  G. 

t  See  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  in  the  latter  part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  C. 

t  Ingraham  subsequently  entered  the  navy  of  the  United  States  as  a  lieutenant, 
and  was  one  of  the  officers  of  the  ill-fated  brig  Pickering,  of  which  nothing  was  ever 
heard,  after  her  departure  from  the  Delaware  in  August,  1800.  Gray  continued  to 
command  trading  vessels  from  Boston  until  1809,  about  which  time  he  died. 


238 


simrET  or  admiiultt  inlet. 


[1792. 


In  the  mean  time,  the  survey  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca  had  been 
completed. 

Vancouver  and  Broughton  took  their  departure  on  the  Ist  of 
May,  as  already  mentioned,  from  Cape  Flattery,  the  point  at  the 
south  side  of  the  entrance  of  the  Strait,  and  thence  sailed  slowly 
along  the  coast  eastward,  about  a  hundred  miles,  to  its  extremity 
in  that  direction,  where  they  entered  a  harbor  called  by  them  Port 
Discovery,  the  same  which  had,  in  1790,  received  from  Quimpcr 
the  name  of  Port  Quadra.  A  little  beyond  this  harbor,  they  found 
another  opening  in  the  coast  towards  the  south,  corresponding  with 
that  called  by  Quimper  Canal  de  Caamano,  through  which  they 
entered  an  extensive  arm  of  the  sea,  with  several  branches,  stretch- 
ing in  various  southerly  directions,  to  the  distance  of  more  than  {i 
hundred  miles  from  the  strait.  This  great  arm,  called  Admiralty 
Inht,  with  its  principal  branches,  Hood's  Canal  on  the  west.  Pos- 
session Sound  on  the  east,  and  PugeCs  Sound,  the  southernmost, 
were  carefully  surveyed  to  their  respective  terminations ;  and  the 
navigators,  having  thus  ascertained  that  no  passage  through  the  con- 
tinent was  to  be  effected  by  those  channels,  returned  to  the  strait. 
Of  the  beauty  and  apparent  fertility  of  the  country  surrounding  this 
arm  of  the  sea,  Vancouver  speaks  in  glowing  terms.  The  surface 
near  the  shores  was  generally  undulating,  presenting  a  succession 
of  meadows,  lawns,  and  hillocks,  many  of  which  were  covered 
with  noblr  forests  of  oak  ;  "  the  soil  principally  consisted  of  a  rich, 
black,  vegetable  mould,  lying  on  a  sandy  or  clayey  substratum ;  the 
grass,  of  excellent  quality,  grew  to  the  height  of  three  feet,  and  the 
ferns,  which,  in  the  sandy  soils,  occupied  the  clear  spots,  were 
nearly  twice  as  high."  In  the  distance,  on  the  east,  the  south,  and 
the  west,  the  view  was  bounded  by  lofty  mountains,  to  the  stupen- 
dous peaks  of  which  Vancouver  assigned  the  names  of  British 
admirals  and  diplomatists. 

After  completing  this  part  of  their  survey,  the  English  landed  on 
the  shore  of  Possession  Sound,  and  celebrated  the  bhthday  of  their 
sovereign,  the  4th  of  June,  by  taking  possession,  in  his  name,  and 
"  with  the  usual  formalities,  of  all  that  part  of  New  Albion,  from 
the  latitude  of  39  degrees  20  minutes  south,  and  longitude  236 
degrees  26  minutes  east,  to  the  entrance  of  the  inlet  of  the  sea, 
said  to  be  the  supposed  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  as  also  of  all  the 
coasts,  islands,  &c.,  within  the  said  strait,  and  both  its  shores ;  "  to 
which  region  they  gave  the  appellation  of  New  Georgia.  With 
regard  to  this  ceremony,  it  may  be  observed,  that,  although  naval 


1792.] 


VANCOUVER   MEETS    GAMiNO    AND    VALDO. 


339 


officers  are  not  expected  to  be  minutely  acquainted  with  diplomatic 
aflfairs,  yet  Captain  Vancouver,  who  wus  sent  to  the  North  Pacific 
as  commissioner  to  execute  the  convention  of  October,  1790,  should 
have  recollected  that,  by  the  stipulations  of  that  convention,  every 
part  of  the  north-tvest  coast  of  America  was  rendered  free  and  open 
for  trade  or  settlement  to  Spanish  as  well  as  British  subjects;  and 
that,  consequently,  no  claim  of  sovereignty,  on  the  part  of  either  of 
those  nations,  could  be  valid.  It  may  seem  pedantic,  if  not  unjust, 
to  make  this  remark  with  regard  to  what  may  have  been  nothing 
more  than  the  result  of  an  exuberance  of  loyal  feeling  in  the  officers 
and  crews  of.  the  vessels;  but  this  talcing  pos.  ssion  by  Vancouver 
has  been  since  gravely  adduced,  by  the  representatives  of  the  British 
government,  in  support  of  its  claims  to  tlie  dominion  of  the  terri- 
tories above  mentioned.* 

On  returning  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  the  English  examined  several 
other  passages  opening  into  it,  some  of  which  were  found  to  ter- 
minate in  the  land,  at  short  distances  from  their  mouths,  and  others 
to  be  channels  between  islands.  Through  one  of  these  latter  chan- 
nels, opening  immediately  opposite  the  entrance  of  Admiralty  Inlet, 
they  passed  into  a  long  and  wide  gulf,  extending  north-westward ; 
and,  after  proceeding  a  few  miles  within  it,  they,  on  the  23d  of  June, 
unexpectedly  met  the  Spanish  schooners  Sutil  and  Mexicana,t  com- 
manded by  Lieutenants  Galiano  and  Valdes,  which  had  left  Nootka 
on  the  4th  of  the  month,  and  had  advanced  thus  far  along  the 
northern  shore  of  the  strait.  The  meeting  was,  doubtless,  vexatious 
to  the  commanders  of  both  the  parti»)s,  each  being  naturally  anxious 
to  secure  to  himself  all  the  merit  which  might  be  acquired  by  deter- 
mining the  character  of  this  famous  arm  of  the  sea :  they,  however, 
received  and  treated  each  other  with  the  utmost  civility,  mutually 
exhibiting  their  charts  and  journals,  and  comparing  their  obser- 
vations ;  and,  having  agreed  to  unite  their  labors,  they  remained  to- 
gether three  weeks.  During  this  time,  they  surveyed  the  shores  of 
the  great  gulf  above  mentioned,  called  by  the  Spaniards  Canal  del 
Rosario,  and  by  the  English  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  which  extended 

*  See  statement  of  the  British  commissionera,  among  the  Proofs  and  IlluBtrations, 
in  the  latter  part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  G. 

t  Vancouver  describes  these  vessels  as  "  each  about  forty-five  tons  burden,  mount- 
ing two  brass  guns,  and  navigated  by  twenty-four  men ;  bearing  one  lieutenant,  with- 
out a  single  inferior  officer.  Their  apartments  just  allowed  room  for  sleeping-places 
on  each  side,  with  a  table  in  the  intermediate  space,  at  which  four  persons  could  with 
difficulty  sit ;  and  they  were,  in  all  other  respects,  the  most  ill-calculated  and  unfit 
vessels  that  could  possibly  be  imagined  for  such  an  expedition." 


940 


PABIAQE   THKODGH   THE    ITRAIT   Or    WVCA. 


a- 


W. 


I         I 


nortli- westward  as  far  as  the  50th  degree  of  latitude ;  and  tl^  ■ ,  on 
the  13th  of  July,  the  English  took  leave  of  their  Spanish  friends, 
who,  from  want  of  force,  were  unable  to  keep  up  with  them. 

On  parting  with  the  Spaniards,  the  English  entered  a  passage, 
named  by  them  Johtutone's  Strait,  leading  from  the  north-west  ex- 
tremity of  the  gulf;  and  after  a  long  and  difficult  navigation  through 
it,  they,  on  the  10th  of  August,  emerged  into  the  Pacificat  Queen 
Charlotte's  Sound,  about  one  hundred  miles  north  of  Nootka. 
Having  been,  from  the  commencement,  persuaded  that  the  land  on 
the  western  side  of  the  strait  was  an  island,  they  had  devoted  their 
attention  particularly  to  the  eastern  shores,  through  which  a  passage 
might  be  found  to  Hudson's  Bay  or  the  Arctic  Sea ;  but  their  search 
proved  vain,  and,  after  tracing  to  their  terminations  in  the  interior  a 
number  of  long  and  intricate  inlets,  they  became  convinced  that 
the  continent  extended  uninterruptedly  northward,  at  least  to  the 
51st  parallel  of  latitude.  Immediately  on  entering  the  Pacific,  the 
Discovery  struck  on  a  rock,  and  scarcely  had  she  been  got  off"  ere 
a  similar  misfortune  befell  the  Chatham ;  both  vessels,  however, 
escaped  with  little  injury,  and  they  soon  after  arrived  at  Nootka 
Sound.  Galiano  and  Valdes  also  passed  through  the  strait  by  the 
same  route,  and  reached  Nootka  in  safety  on  the  4th  of  September. 

After  the  arrival  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana  at  Nootka,  Vancouver 
and  the  Spanish  commander,  Quadra,  compared  together  the  notes 
and  charts  of  the  two  voyages  through  the  Strait  of  Fuca ;  and  it 
was  agreed  between  them,  that  the  great  island  which  that  arm  of 
the  sea  separated  from  the  American  continent  should  bear  the 
names  of  them  both.  It  has,  in  consequence,  ever  since  been  dis- 
tinguished on  maps  by  the  long  and  inconvenient  appellation  of 
Island  of  Quadra  and  Vancouver,  which  it  will  scarcely  be  allowed 
to  retain,  when  that  part  of  the  world  shall  be  occupied  by  a  civil- 
ized people. 

This  survey  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca  was  conducted  in  the  most 
complete  and  effectual  manner  possible  by  Vancouver,  whose  ac- 
count of  it,  filling  a  large  portion  of  his  journal,  together  with  his 
charts,  afford  unequivocal  testimony  of  the  skill  and  perseverance  of 
the  British  navigators.  Galiano  and  Valdes  seem  also  to  have  done 
as  much  as  could  have  been  expected,  considering  the  smallness 
of  their  force  and  the  miserable  scale  of  their  equipments.  Had 
they  not  met  the  British  ships,  they  would,  doubtless',  have  found 
their  way  through  the  strait ;  but  they  could  never  have  made  even 
a  tolerable  survey  of  it,  as  they  must  have  left  a  number  of  passages 


c 
c 
r 

V 

li 

a 
tl 
k 

a] 


1798.] 


NKS0TIATI0N8    AT    IlOOTBA. 


841 


unexplored ;  and  the  world  would,  probably,  nerer  have  received 
any  detailed  report  of  their  operations.* 

Before  the  arrival  of  these  veraclii  at  Nootka '  Sound,  Captain 
Caamano  returned  from  his  search  for  the  Rio  de  Reyes  of  Ad- 
miral Fonti,  in  which  he  had  spent  two  months.  During  this 
period,  he  entered  many  of  the  openings  in  the  coasts  north  and 
north-east  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  between  the  53d  and  the 
56th  parallels  of  latitude ;  some  of  which  were  found  to  be  the 
mouths  of  bays,  or  of  inlets  running  far  inland,  and  others  to  be 
channels  separating  islands.  He  appears  to  have  displayed  much 
skill  and  industry  in  his  examinations,  as  Vancouver  indirectly 
testifies  in  his  narrative :  but  he  effected  no  discoveries  calculated 
to  throw  much  light  on  the  geography  of  that  part  of  the  coast ; 
and  his  labors  were  productive  of  advantage  only  in  so  far  as  they 
served  to  facilitate  the  movements  of  the  English  navigator,  to 
whom  his  charts  and  journals  were  exhibited  at  Nootka. 

At  Nootka,  Vancouver  found  the  store-ship  Daedalus,  which 
brought  the  instructions  from  the  British  government  for  his  con- 
duct as  commissioner.  She  left  England  in  the  autumn  of  1791, 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Hergest ;  and,  passing  around 
Cape  Horn,  she,  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  1792,  fell  in  with  the 

*  The  voyage  of  the  Sutil  and  Mexicana  was  the  last  made  by  the  Spaniards  in 
the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  for  the  purposes  of  discovery ;  and  the  only  one,  since  that 
of  Vizcaino,  of  which  an  authentic  account  has  been  given  to  the  world,  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Spanish  government.  The  Journal  of  Galiano  and  Valdes  was  pub- 
lished at  Madrid  in  ISOii,  6^  order  of  the  king,  with  an  Introduction,  oilen  cited  in 
the  preceding  pages,  including  a  historical  sketch  of  the  exploring  voyages  of  the 
Spaniards  on  the  coasts  of  America,  north-west  of  Mexico.  This  Introduction  is  the 
only  valuable  part  of  the  work ;  the  meagre  and  uninteresting  details  of  the  Journal 
having  been  superseded  by  the  full  and  luminous  descriptions  of  Vancouver:  it 
was  intended  —  as  a  defence  of  the  rights  of  Spain  to  the  north-west  portion  of 
America,  which  were  supposed  to  be  endangered  since  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to 
France  —  as  a  vindication  of  the  claims  of  Spanish  navigators  to  the  merit  of  dis- 
covering those  regions,  which  the  British  were  endeavoring  to  monopolize — and  as  a 
reply  to  the  cl<  'ges,  insinuations,  and  sarcasms,  against  the  intelligence,  liberality, 
and  good  faitli  it'  the  Spanish  government  and  nation,  brought  forward  by  Fleurieu. 
It  was  compiled  chiefly  from  the  original  journals  and  other  documents,  in  the 
archives  of  the  Countil  of  the  Indies,  relative  to  the  exploration  of  the  North  Pacific 
coasts ;  and,  in  this  manner,  many  curious  if  not  important  facts  were  communi- 
cated, which  might  otherwise  have  remained  forever  buried.  It  is,  however,  to  bel 
regretted  that  the  author  should  have  disfigured  his  work  —  as  he  has  in  every  part  in 
which  the  honor  or  interests  of  Spain  are  concerned  —  by  gross  and  palpable  misstate- 
ments of  circumstances,  respecting  which  he  undoubtedly  possessed  the  means  of 
arriving  at  the  truth.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  considered  a  stiffictetat  apblogy  for  him, 
that  his  book  was  published  by  the  Spanish  government,  at  Madrid,  ib  160S^  as  w* 
know  not  what  changes  may  have  been  made  in  it  by  insertions,  suppressions,  and 
alterations,  after  it  left  his  hands. 

31 


242 


LETTEB  OF  GRAY  AND  INGRAHAM. 


[1792. 


I 


I  ^ 


islands  in  the  centre  of  the  Pacific,  north  of  the  Marquesas,  which 
had  been  discovered  by  Ingraham  in  April  of  the  preceding  year. 
Sailing  thence,  she  reached  Woahoo,  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
where  Lieutenant  Hergest  and  Mr.  Gooch,  the  astronomer,  were 
murdered  by  the  natives,  on  the  11th  of  May;  after  which  she 
came  to  Nootka  Sound,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  New. 
Vancouver  gave  the  name  of  Hergesfs  Islands  to  the  group  visited 
by  the  Dsedaius,  as  above  mentioned ;  and  so  they  are  called  in  his 
chart,  although,  as  he  says  in  his  journal,  he  had  been  informed 
that  they  had  been  previously  discovered  and  landed  on  by  some  of  the 
American  traders. 

For  his  conduct  as  commissioner,  Vancouver  was  referred  by  his 
instructions  to  the  convention  of  October,  1790,  and  to  a  letter 
brought  by  the  Daedalus  from  count  de  Florida  Blanca,  the  Spanish 
minister  of  state,  addressed  to  the  commandant  of  the  port  of  San 
Lorenzo  of  Nootka,  ordering  that  officer,  in  conformity  with  the 
first  article  of  the  convention,  to  put  his  Britannic  majesty's  com- 
missioner in  possession  of  the  buildings  and  districts,  or  parcels  of 
land,  which  were  occupied  by  his  subjects  in  April,  1789,  as  well 
in  the  port  of  Nootka  as  in  the  other,  said  to  be  called  Port  Cox, 
and  to  be  situated  about  sixteen  leagues  farther  southward.  A  copy 
of  this  order  had  been  given  to  Quadra,  on  his  departure  from 
Mexico ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  either  of  the  commissioners 
was  furnished  by  his  government  with  any  evidence  to  assist  him  in 
ascertaining  precisely  what  lands  were  to  be  restored,  or  for  what 
buildings  indemnification  was  to  be  made  by  the  Spaniards. 

In  order  to  supply  ♦his  want  of  information.  Quadra  1  ad,  imme- 
diately on  arriving  at  Nootka,  made  inquiries  on  the  subject  of 
Maquinna  and  other  chiefs  of  the  surrounding  tribes  ;  all  of  whom, 
without  hesitation,  denied  that  any  lands  had  been  purchased,  or 
any  houses  had  been  built  there,  by  the  English  at  any  time.  As 
the  testimony  of  the  savage  chiefs  could  not,  however,  be  of  much 
value  alone,  he  had  next  addressed  his  inquiries  to  Captains  Gray 
and  Ingraham,  who  arrived  at  Nootka  in  July,  gn^  already  stated, 
and  who  had  witnessed  the  proceedings  at  that  place  in  1789,  when 
the  former  commanded  the  Washington,  and  the  latter  was  finst 
mate  of  the  Columbia ;  and  they,  in  answer,  sent  a  letter,  dated 
August  2d,  containing  a  clear  and  particular  statement  of  all  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  occupation  of  Nootka,  and  the 
seizure  of  the  vessels  by  Martinez.  With  regard  to  the  particular 
points  in  question,  they  declare  unequivocally  that,  although  they 


1792.] 


PROPOSITIONS    07    (QUADRA. 


243 


had  been  in  habits  of  constant  intercourse  with  Maquinna  and  his 
people  for  nine  months,  they  had  never  heard  of  any  purchase  of 
lands  on  that  coast  by  British  subjects ;  and  that  the  only  building 
seen  by  them,  when  they  reached  the  sound  in  September,  1789, 
was  a  rude  hut,  made  by  the  Indians,  which  had  been  destroyed 
long  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards.*  These  statements  were, 
in  all  respects,  confirmed  by  Viana,  the  Portuguese,  who  had  been 
the  captain  of  the  Iphigenia  in  1788  and  1789,  and  who  was  then 
with  his  vessel  at  Nootka ;  and  the  Spanish  commissioner  thereupon 
considered  himself  authorized  to  assume  that  no  lands  were  to  be 
restored,  and  no  buildings  to  be  replaced  or  paid  for  by  Spain. 

A  communication  to  this  effect,  with  copies  of  the  letters  of  Gray 
and  Iiigraham  and  Viana,  was,  accordingly,  addressed  by  Quadra 
to  Vancouver,  on  the  arrival  of  the  latter  at  Nootka.  The  Spanish 
commissioner,  however,  at  the  same  time  offered,  with  the  view  of 
removing  all  causes  of  disagreement  between  the  two  nations,  to 
surrender  to  the  British  the  small  spot  of  ground  on  the  shore  of 
Friendly  Cove,  which  had  been  temporarily  occupied  by  Meares  and 
hiS  people  in  1788 ;  to  give  up,  Tor  their  use,  the  houses  and  cul- 
tivated lands  of  the  Spaniards  near  that  place ;  and  to  retire  with 
ill  his  forces  to  Port  Nunez  Gaona,  in  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  (where 
in  establishment  had  been  begun  by  Fidalgo,)  until  the  two  govern- 
ments should  determine  further  on  the  matter:  with  the  under- 
standing, nevertheless,  that  this  cession  was  not  to  be  considered  as 
iffecting  the  rights  of  his  Catholic  majesty  to  the  dominion  of  the 
territory,  and  that  Nootka  was  to  be  regarded  as  the  most  northern 
settlement  of  the  Spaniards,  to  whom  the  whole  coast  lying  south 
of  it,  and  the  adjacent  country,  was  to  be  acknowledged  to  belong 
exclusively. 

Vancouver,  on  the  other  hand,  had  thought  proper  to  construe 
the  first  article  of  the  convention  of  1790  as  giving  to  his  country- 
men possession  of  the  whole  territory  surrounding  Nootka  and  Clyo- 
quot;  and  he  therefore  refused  to  receive  what  was  offered  by 
Quadra,  declaring,  with  regard  to  the  concluding  part  of  the 
Spaniard's  proposition,  that  he  was  not  authorized  to  enter  into  any 
discussion  as  to  the  rights  or  claims  of  the  respective  nations.  In 
this  conviction  he  was  supported  by  the  evidence  of  Robert  Duffin, 
the  former  mate  of  the  Argonaut,  who  happened  to  arrive  at  Nootka 
while  the  negotiation  was  in  progress.     This  person  testified  that 

*  See  letter  of  Gray  and  Ingraham  to  Quadra,  among  the  Proof*  and  IlluBtrations, 
in  the  latter  part  of  thit  volume,  under  the  letter  D. 


S 

11 


244 


QUFFIN  S    EVIDENCE. 


[1792. 


il 

hi 


he  had  accompanied  Mr.  Meares  to  Nootka  in  1788,  with  his  two 
vessels,  which  sailed  under  Portuguese  colors  and  under  the  name 
of  a  Portuguese  merchant,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  certain 
heavy  duties  at  Macao,  but  were,  notwithstanding,  "  entirely  British 
property,  and  wholly  navigated  by  the  subjects  of  his  Britannic 
majesty;"  that  he  had  himself  been  present  when  Mr.  Meares 
purchased  "  from  the  two  chiefs,  Maquinna  and  Callicum,  the  whole 
of  the  land-  that  forms  Friendly  Cove,  Nootka  Sound,  in  his  Bri- 
tannic majesty's  name,"  for  some  sheets  of  copper  and  trifling 
articles ;  that  the  natives  were  perfectly  satisfied,  and,  with  the 
chiefs,  did  homage  to  Mr.  Meares  as  sovereign ;  that  the  British  flag 
—  not  the  Portuguese — was  displayed  on  shore  on  that  occasion  ; 
that  Mr.  Meares  caused  a  house  to  be  erected  on  a  convenient  spot, 
containing  three  bed-chambers,  with  a  mess-room  for  the  officers 
and  proper  apartments  for  the  men,  "  surrounded  by  several  out- 
houses and  sheds  for  the  artificers  to  work  in,  all  of  which  he  left 
in  good  repair,  under  the  care  of  Maquinna  and  Callicum,  until  ho, 
or  some  of  his  associates,  should  return ;  that  he,  Duffin,  was  not 
at  Nootka  when  Martinez  arrived  there,  but  he  understood  no  vestige 
of  the  house  remained  at  that  tine ;  and,  on  his  return  thither  in 
July,  1789,  he  found  the  Cove  occupied  by  the  subjects  of  his 
Catholic  majesty,  and  on  the  spot  on  which  the  house  had  stood 
were  the  tents  and  houses  of  some  of  the  people  of  the  ship 
Columbia.  Upon  the  streigth  of  this  testimony,  Vancouver  pro- 
nounced the  declarations  of  Messrs.  Gray  and  Ingraham  to  be  en- 
tirely false ;  and  he  takes  pains,  in  several  parts  of  his  work,  to 
animadvert,  in  severe  terms,  on  what  he  is  pleased  to  call  "  the 
wilful  misrepresentations  of  the  Americans,  to  the  prejudice  of 
British  subjects." 

On  the  points  to  which  Duffin's  statement  relates,  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  add  any  thing  to  what  has  been  already  said.  The  evidence 
is  presented  to  us  by  Vancouver,  in  the  form  of  an  abstract,  of  the 
correctness  of  which,  as  well  as  of  the  candor  of  that  oflicer,  we 
may  be  enabled  to  form  an  estimate,  by  comparing  his  abstract  of 
the  letter  from  Gray  and  Ingraham  to  Quadra,  with  the  letter  itself. 
It  will  be  thus  seen,  that  the  British  commander  has,  most  unfairly, 
garbled  the  testimony  of  the  American  traders,  by  suppressing  or 
altering  every  part  of  it  which  could  tend  to  place  his  countrymen, 
or  their  cause,  in  an  unfavorable  light,  or  to  excuse  ths  conduct  of 
the  Spaniards  towards  them.  His  bitterness  towards  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States,  on  this  occasion,  may,  perhaps,  be  attributed 


I' 


1792.] 


NEGOTIATION    SUSPKNDEP. 


245 


to  the  circumstance,  that,  on  his  arrival  at  Nootka,  he  letM'ned  the 
complete  success  of  Gray  in  finding  a  large  river,  and  a  secure 
harbor,  on  a  coast  which  he  had  himself  explored  in  vain  with  the 
same  objects. 

The  correspondence  between  the  two  commissioners  was  con- 
tinued for  some  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which,  finding  it  impossible 
to  effect  any  definitive  arrangement,  they  agreed  to  submit  the 
matter,  with  all  the  additional  evi  lence  obtained  by  both  parties,  to 
their  respective  governments,  and  to  await  further  orders ;  Nootka 
being,  in  the  mean  time,  considered  a  Spanish  port.*     Vancouver, 


*  The  preceding  sketch  of  the  negotiation  between  Vancouver  and  Quadra  ia 
derived  from  the  Journals  of  Vancouver,  Galiano  and  Valdes,  and  Ingrahain.  The 
following  summary  account  of  the  business,  extracted  from  Ingraham's  Journal,  was 
drawn  up,  at  his  request,  by  Mr.  Howel,  the  supercargo  of  the  American  brig  Mar- 
garet, who  acted  as  translator  for  Quadra,  and  saw  the  whole  of  the  correspondence. 

"The  indefinite  mode  of  expression  adopted  by  Messrs.  Fitzherbert  and  Florida 
Blanca  did  not  affix  any  boundaries  to  the  cession  expected  by  Great  Britain :  what 
the  buildings  were,  or  what  was  the  extent  of  the  tract  of  land  to  be  restored,  the 
plenipotentiaries  did  not  think  proper  to  determine.  Don  Juan  Francisco,  having 
no  better  guide,  collected  the  best  evidence  he  could  procure,  and  that  could  enab'y: 
him  to  determine  what  were  the  lands  and  buildings  of  which  the  British  subjects 
were  dispossessed,  and  which  the  tenor  of  the  first  article  of  the  convention  alone 
authorized  him  to  restore.  The  result  of  this  investigation,  in  which  he  was  much 
aided  by  your  communication,  supported  by  the  uniform  declarations  of  Maquinna 
and  his  tribe,  sufficiently  evinced  that  the  tract  was  a  small  corner  of  Friendly  Cove, 
and,  to  use  the  words  of  Captain  Vancouver,  little  more  than  a  hundred  yards  in  ex- 
tent any  way ;  and  the  buildings,  according  to  your  information,  dwindled  to  one 
hut.  Senor  Quadra,  having  ascertained  the  limits  usually  occupied  by  Mr.  Meares, 
r>T  his  servants,  was  ever  ready  to  deliver  it,  in  behalf  of  his  Catholic  majesty,  to  any 
envoy  from  the  British  court.  Captain  Vancouver  arrived  at  Nootka  Sound  in  the 
latter  end  of  August ;  and  Senor  Quadra  wrote  to  liim  on  th.-  subject  of  their  re- 
spective orders,  and  enclosed  your  letter,  together  with  one  frcri  a  Captain  Viana,  a 
Portuguese,  who  passed  as  captain  of  the  Iphigenia,  whfen  she  v  i;-  detained  by  the 
Spaniards.  r>on  Juan  Francisco,  in  his  letter,  avowee'  tu^  readi:;  ;?s  tc  put  Captain 
Vancouver  in  possession  of  the  tract  of  land  where  Mr.  Mearr;'fi  ii  jusf.  once  stood, 
which  alone  could  be  that  ceded  to  Great  Britain  by  the  crnviaiion.  Serior  Quadra 
offered,  likewise,  to  leave  for  his  accommodation  all  the  house o,  gaidenb,  &c.,  which 
had  been  made  at  the  expense  of  his  Catholic  majeety,  ■  s  he  intended  l:r.v\ng  the 
port  immediately.  In  the  same  letter,  he  tendered  t.-iptiin  V^incouver  offer,  of 
every  service  and  assistance  which  hospitality  or  berevolence  could  dictate.  Cap- 
tain Vancouver,  in  rf'nly,  gratefully  acknowledged  the  intended  favors,  but  entijtv'_y 
dissented  from  the  boundaries  affixed  by  Seiior  Quadra  to  the  tract  of  land,  of  which 
he  was  to  receive  the  possession  and  property ;  and,  in  pursuance  of  his  directions, 
interpreted  the  first  article  as  a  cession  of  this  port,  viz.,  .Xootka  Sound,  in  toto,  to- 
gether with  Clyoquot,  or  Port  Cox.  He  uisclaimed  ill  retrospective  discussion  of  the 
rights,  pretensions,  &c.,  of  the  two  courts,  and  also  of  the  actual  possessions  <.  f  British 
subjects  in  Nootka  Sound,  deeming  it  irrelevant  to  the  business  he  was  authorized 
to  transact,  and  only  to  be  settled  by  the  respective  monaixhs.  The  letters  which 
followed  on  both  sides  were  merely  a  reiteration  of  the  foregomg  propocaJn  and 
demands.    Seiior  Quadra  invited  to  a  diiouBsion  of  the  boundaries,  &c.,  <uii  sup- 


l^r 


isii 


^1;i 


246 


SURVET  or  BULFINCH  S  HARBOR. 


[1792. 


accordingly,  despatched  Lieutenant  Mudge,  by  way  of  China,  to 
England,  with  communications  for  his  government ;  and  he  then 
piepared  for  his  own  departure  towards  the  south,  being  resolved  to 
examine  the  Columbia  River  and  Buliinch's  Harbor,  of  which  he 
had  received  from  Quadra  copies  of  the  charts  given  to  that  officer 
by  Gray. 

Vancouver  sailed  from  Nootka,  with  his  three  vessels,  on  the  13th 
of  October',  and,  on  the  18th,  he  was  opposite  Bulfinch's  Harbor, 
to  examine  which  he  detached  Lieutenant  Whidbey,  in  the  Dseda- 
lus,  while  he  himself  proceded  with  the  other  vessels  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia.  Into  that  river  Broughton  penetrated,  in  the 
Chatham,  on  the  20th :  the  Discovery  was  unable  to  pass  the  bar 
at  the  mouth ;  and  Vancouver,  being  persuaded  that  the  stream  was 
inaccessible  to  large  ships,  "except  in  very  fine  weather,  with 
moderate  winds,  and  a  smooth  sea,"  sailed  to  the  Bay  of  San 
Francisco,  where  he  had  ordered  the  other  officers  to  join  him  in 
case  of  separation.  In  December  following,  the  whole  squadron 
was  reunited  at  Monterey,  where  Whidbey  and  Broughton  pre- 
sented the  reports  of  their  observations. 

Whidbey's  account  of  Bulfinch's  Harbor  was  less  favorable  than 
Gray's;  from  both,  however,  it  appears  that  the  place  possesses 
advantages  which  must  render  it  important,  whenever  the  surround- 
ing region  becomes  settled.  It  affords  a  safe  retreat  for  small 
vessels,  and  there  are  several  spots  on  its  shore  where  boats  may 
land  without  difficulty :  moreover,  it  is  the  only  harb' :  on  the  coast, 
between  Cape  Mendocino  and  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  except  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia ;  and,  under  such  circumstances,  labor  and  inge- 
nuity will  certainly  be  employed  to  correct  and  improve  what  nature 
has  off*ered.  Upon  the  strength  of  this  survey,  the  place  has  been 
frequently  distinguished  on  British,  and  even  on  American  maps, 
as  Whidbey's  Harbor,  although  Vancouver  himself  has  not  pre- 
tended to  withhold  from  Giay  the  merit  of  discovering  it. 

Broughton,  as  before  mentioned,  entered  tiie  Columbia  with  the 


ported  his  evidence  with  well-grounded  reasoning;  yet  Captain  Vancouver  steadily 
adhered  to  the  demands  he  first  made,  and  refused  every  kind  of  disiussion.  The 
definitive  letter  from  Seiior  Quadra  was  transmitted  on  the  15th  of  September  ;  but, 
it  being  of  the  same  nature  with  the  preceding  ones,  Captain  Vancouver  only  re- 
plied by  a  repetition  of  his  former  avowal,  and  informing  the  Spanish  commandant 
that  he  could  receive,  on  the  part  of  hia  master,  the  king  cf  Britain,  no  other  terri- 
tories than  those  he  had  pointed  out  in  his  other  letters,  with  which  if'Senor  Quadra 
did  not  comply,  he  must  retain  them  for  his  Catholic  majesty,  until  the  respective 
courts  should  determine  what  further  proceedings  they  might  decim  necessary." 


1792.J  BROUOHTON    SURVEYS    THE    COLUMBIA    RIVER. 


247 


Chatham,  on  the  20th  of  October ;  and  he  there,  to  his  surprise, 
found  lying  at  anchor  the  brig  Jenny,  from  Bristol,  which  had  sailed 
from  Nootka  Sound  a  few  days  previous.  Scarcely  had  the  Chat- 
ham effected  an  entrance  ere  she  ran  aground ;  and  the  channel 
proved  to  be  so  intricate,  that  Broughton  determined  to  leave  her 
about  four  miles  from  the  mouth,  and  to  proceed  up  the  stream  in 
his  cutter.  A  short  account  of  his  survey  will  be  sufficient,  as  it 
would  be  unnecessary  to  present  an  abridgment  of  the  long  and 
minute  description  given  in  the  journal  of  Vancouver. 

The  portion  of  the  Columbia  near  the  sea  was  found  by  Brough- 
ton to  be  about  seven  miles  in  width;  its  depth  varied  from  two 
fathoms  to  eight,  and  it  was  crossed  in  every  direction  by  shoals, 
which  must  always  render  the  navigation  difficult,  even  by  small 
vessels.  Higher  up,  the  stream  became  narrower,  and,  at  the 
distance  of  twenty-five  miles  from  its  moutli,  its  breadth  did  not 
exceed  a  thousand  yards.  These  circumstances  were  considered  by 
Broughton  and  Vancouver  as  authorizing  them  to  assume  that  the 
true  entrance  of  the  river  was  at  the  last-mentioned  point,  and  that 
the  waters  between  it  and  the  ocean  constituted  an  inlet  or  sound.* 
From  the  extremity  of  this  inlet,  the  party  rowed  eighty  miles  up 
the  river,  in  a  south-west  course,  to  a  bend,  where,  the  current 
being  so  rapid  rs  to  prevent  them  from  advancing  without  great 
labor,  they  abandoned  the  survey,  and  returned  to  their  vessel. 
The  angle  of  land  around  which  the  river  flowed,  and  where  their 
progress  was  arrested,  received  the  appellation  of  Point  Vancouver ; 
the  part  of  the  inlet  where  the  ship  Columbia  lay  at  anchor  during 
her  visit,  was  called  Grat/s  Bay ;  and  tl.at  immediately  within  Cape 
Disappointment  was  named  Baker's  Bay,  in  compliment  to  the 
captain  of  the  Jenny.     On  the  10th  of  November,  the  Chatham 

*  "1  sl'f.'!  conclude  tliis  account  of  the  ColnmLiia  River  bj- a  few  short  remarks 
that  Mr.  Broughton  made  in  the  course  of  its  survey,  in  his  own  words.  '  The 
discovery  of  this  river,  we  were  given  to  understand,  is  claimed  by  the  Spaniards, 
who  called  it  EiUracla  de  Ccta,  after  the  commander  of  the  vessel  who  is  said  to  be  its 
first  discoverer,  but  who  never  entered  it;  he  places  it  in  46  degrees  north  latitude. 
It  is  the  same  opening  that  ]Mr.  Gray  stated  to  us,  in  the  spring,  ho  had  been  nine 
days  off,  the  former  year,  but  could  not  get  in,  in  consequence  of  the  outsetting 
current ;  that,  in  the  course  of  the  late  summer,  he  had,  however,  entered  the  river, 
or  rather  the  sound,  and  had  named  it  after  the  ship  he  then  commanded.  The  ex- 
tent Mr.  Gray  became  acquainted  with  on  that  occasion  is  no  farther  than  what  I 
have  called  Gray's  Bay,  not  more  than  fifteen  miles  from  Cape  Disappointment, 
though,  according  to  Mr.  Gray's  sketch,  it  measures  thirty-six  miles.  By  his  calcu- 
lation, its  entrance  lies  in  latitude  46  degrees  10  minutes,  longitude  237  degrees  18 
minutes,  differing  materially,  in  these  respects,  from  our  observations.'  "  —  Vancou- 
ver, vol.  ii.  p.  74. 


i248 


UNWORTHY    CONDUCT    OF    VANCOUVER. 


[1792. 


u 


i  I 


quitted  the  Columbia,  in  company  with  the  Jenny,  and  arrived  at 
Port  San  Francisco  before  the  end  of  the  month. 

The  distinction  which  Vancouver  and  Broughton  have  thus  en- 
deavored to  estabhsh  between  the  upper  and  the  lower  portions  of 
the  Columbia,  is  entirely  destitute  of  foundation,  and  at  variance 
with  the  principles  of  our  whole  geographical  nomenclature.  Inlets 
and  sounds  are  arms  of  the  sea,  running  up  into  the  land ;  and  their 
waters,  being  supplied  from  the  sea,  are  necessarily  salt :  the  waters 
of  the  Columbia  are,  on  the  contrary,  generally  fresh  and  potable 
within  ten  miles  of  the  Pacific ;  the  volume  and  the  overbearing 
force  of  the  current  being  sufficient  to  prevent  the  farther  ingress 
of  the  ocean.  The  question  appears,  at  first,  to  be  of  no  conse- 
quence :  the  following  extract  from  Vancouver's  journal  will,  how- 
ever, serve  to  show  that  the  quibble  was  devised  by  the  British 
nnvigators,  with  the  unworthy  object  of  depriving  Gray  of  tfio 
"•erits  of  his  discovery:  "Previously  to  his  [Broughton's]  deparl- 
Mre,  he  formally  took  possession  of  the  river,  and  the  country  in  its 
vicinity,  in  his  Britannic  majesty's  name,  having  every  reason  to 
iidicve  that  the  subjects  of  no  other  civilized  nation  or  atate  had  ever 
,  itered  this  river  before.  In  this  opinion  he  was  conjirmed  by  Mr. 
Gray^s  sketch,  in  which  it  does  not  appear  thai  Mr.  Gray  either  saw 
or  ever  was  within  five  leagues  of  its  entrance.^*  This  unjust  view 
has  been  adopted  by  the  British  government  and  writers,  and  also, 
doubtless  from  inadvertency,  by  some  distinguished  authors  in  the 
United  States.  It  may  be,  indeed,  considered  fortunate  for  Gray, 
that,  by  communicating  the  particulars  of  his  discoveries,  as  he  did, 
to  Quadra,  he  secured  an  unimpeachable  witness  in  support  of  his 
claims ;  had  he  not  done  so,  the  world  would  probably  never  have 
learned  that  a  citizen  of  the  United  States  was  the  first  to  enter  the 
greatest  river  flowing  from  America  into  the  Pacific,  and  to  find  the 
only  safe  harbor  on  the  long  line  of  coast  between  Port  San  Fran- 
cisco an  J  the  Strait  of  Fuca. 

At  San  Francisco  und  Monterey,  Vancouver  surveyed  the  bays, 
anJ  examined  the  Spanish  er^Jhlishments,  of  which  he  presents 
minute  and  graphic  descriptions  in  his  narrative ;  and  he  obtained 
satisfactory  evidence  ti.at  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco,  situated 
near  the  entrance  of  the  bay,  in  latitude  of  37  degrees  48  minutes, 
was  the  northernmost  spot,  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  America,  occupied 
by  the  Spaniards  previous  to  the  month  of  May,  1789,  and  was,  con- 
sequently, according  to  the  conventioi.  of  1790,  the  northernmost 
spot  on  that  coast  over  which  Spain  could  exercise  exclusive  juris- 


*»: 


1793.]  BXEotrrioN  or  murderers  at  woahoo. 


249 


diction.  At  Monterey,  the  English  commander  again  met  and 
conferred  with  the  Spanish  commissioner  Quadra;  and  it  was 
agreed  between  them,  that  Lieutenant  Broughton  should  proceed 
to  Europe,  across  Mexico,  with  further  communications,  for  their 
respective  courts,  on  the  subject  of  the  arrangement  of  the  ques- 
tions at  issue.  These  affairs  having  been  concluded,  the  Dsedalus 
was  sent  to  New  South  Wales ;  and  Vancouver  proceeded,  with 
the  Discovery  and  Chatham,  the  latter  under  Lieutenant  Puget,  to 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  they  arrived  in  the  middle  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1793. 

At  Owyhee,  the  English  ships  were  visited  by  Tamahamaha, 
wjjo  was,  by  this  time,  acknowledged  as  king  of  the  island 
by  all  the  other  chiefs  except  Tamaahmoto,  the  murderer  of  the 
crew  of  the  Fair  American.  Vancouver  immediately  recognized 
the  authority  oi  Tamahamaha,  to  which  he  endeavored,  but  in  vain, 
to  induce  Tamaahmoto  to  submit ;  he  then  sailed  to  Mowee,  where 
he  succeeded  in  negotiating  a  peace  between  Titeree,  king  of  that 
island,  and  the  sovereign  of  Owyhee,  and  thence  to  Woahoo,  where 
he  superintended  the  trial  and  execution  of  three  natives,  who 
had  been  delivered  up  to  him  as  the  murderers  of  Hergest  and 
Gooch,  the  officers  of  the  Dsedalus.  The  particulars  of  these 
judicial  proceedings  are  detailed  with  precision  by  Vancouver,  who 
seems  to  have  been  perfectly  content  with  their  regularity  and 
correctness ;  nevertheless,  when  Broughton  vjsited  the  island,  in 
1796,  he  was  assured,  as  he  says,  "that  the  men  who  were  exe- 
cuted alongside  of  the  Discovery  had  not  committed  the  murders, 
but  were  unfortunate  beings  whom  the  chief  selected  to  satisfy 
Captain  Vancouver."  *  This  appears  to  be  certain  from  subsequent 
accounts;  and  it  seems  to  be  somewhat  strange,  that  Vancouver 
should  not  have  suspected  it  to  have  been  the  case,  at  the  time  of 
the  trial. 

Having  performed  these  acts  of  diplomacy  and  justice  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  Vancouver  proceeded  to  the  American  coasts ; 
and,  after  examining  the  portion  near  Cape  Mendocino,  including 
the  place  called  Port  Trinidad  by  the  Spaniards,  in  1775,  so  as  to 
connect  his  surveys  north  and  south  of  that  portion,  he  sailed  to 
Nootka,  where  he  arrived  on  the  20th  of  May,  1793.  The  remain- 
der of  the  warm  season  was  passed  by  the  British  navigators  in 
making  a  minute  and  laborious  examination  of  the  shores  of  the 

"  Journal  of  u  Voyage  to  the  Pacific,  from  1793  to  1797,  by  Captain  Robert 
nrnudfhton,  p  43. 

33 


yjiii 


?j'Cj 


250       PRETENDED    CESSION    OF    OWTUEE    TO    GREAT   BRITAIN.  [1794. 

continent,  and  the  islands  in  its  vicinity,  from  the  northern  entrance 
of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  near  the  51st  degree  of  latitude,  northward, 
as  far  as  the  54th  parallel ;  tracing  to  their  terminations,  as  in  the 
preceding  year,  all  the  passages  which  appeared  to  run  eastward,  as 
well  as  many  others,  which  were  found  to  be  channels  separating 
islands  from  each  other  or  from  the  main  land.  Several  open- 
ings still  remained  unexplored  beyond  the  54th  parallel ;  but  the 
weather  bjecame  so  stormy  at  the  end  of  September,  that  the 
survey  could  no  longer  be  continued  with  safety  or  advantage: 
Vancouver  accordingly  returned  along  the  western  side  of  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island  to  Nootka,  and  thence  took  his  departure  for 
Port  San  Fi;ancisco,  which  he  reached  on  the  19th  of  October. 

From  Port  San  Francisco  the  British  navigators  sailed  along  the 
shores  of  California  —  which  Vancouver  takes  care  always  to  call 
New  Albion — as  far  south  as  San  Diego,  near  the  33d  degree  of 
latitude,  visiting  every  important  point  on  their  way,  and  observing 
the  coasts  with  great  exactness ;  and  thence,  in  the  middle  of  De- 
cember, they  V  ent  to  Owyhee,  where  they  found  that  the  supremacy 
of  Tamahamaha  was  admitted,  though  with  some  qualifications,  by 
the  people  and  the  other  chiefs.  Here  Vancouver  succeeded  in 
effecting  a  reconciliation  between  the  king  and  Tahowmannoo, 
his  sultana,  (since  better  known  as  Kaahumanu,)  from  whom  he 
had  been  for  some  time  separated  on  account  of  her  open  and 
repeated  infidelities ;  and  he  soon  after  gave  further  proof  of  his 
talents  as  negotiator,  in  a  transaction  the  particulars  of  which  do 
not  appear  to  have  i)ecn  understood  in  the  same  light  by  both 
the  parties. 

The  navigator  states  that  a  strong  disposition  had  been  manifested 
by  several  chiefs,  at  the  time  of  his  first  visit,  to  place  their  island 
under  subjection  to  the  British  king,  but  that  it  had  been  opposed 
by  other  chiefs,  on  the  ground  that  they  should  not  surrender 
themselves  to  a  superior  foreign  power,  unless  they  were  assured 
that  they  would  thus  be  really  protected  against  distant  and 
neighboring  enemies.  At  the  time  of  his  second  visit,  however, 
he  found  the  disposition  to  submit  much  increased,  and,  as  he  says, 
"  Under  a  conviction  of  the  importance  of  these  islands  to  Great 
Britain,  in  the  event  of  an  «!Xtension  of  her  commerce  over  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  in  return  for  the  essential  services  we  had 
derived  from  the  excellent  productions  of  the  country,  and  the 
ready  assistance  of  its  inhabitants,  I  lost  no  opportunity  for  encour- 
aging their  friendly  dispositions  toward  us,   notwithstanding  the 


1794.]    PRETENDED    CESSION    OF    OWTHEE    TO    GREAT    BRITAIN.       251 


the 
»ur- 
the 


disappointments  they  had  met  from  the  traders,  for  whose  conduct 
I  could  invent  no  apology ,  endeavoring  to  impress  them  with  the 
idea  that,  on  submitting  to  the  authority  and  protection  of  a  superior 
power,  they  might  reasonably  expect  they  would  in  future  be  less 
liable  to  such  abuses."  Acting  under  these  views,  he  conciliated 
Tamahamaha  by  building  for  him  a  small  vessel,  on  which  the 
guns  taken  from  the  schooner  Fair  American  were  mounted ;  and, 
having  induced  all  the  principal  chiefs  to  m^et  him  on  the  shore 
near  his  ships,  it  was  determined,  at  the  assembly,  that  Owyhee 
should  be  ceded  to  his  Britannic  majesty ;  it  being,  however, 
clearly  understood,  that  no  interference  was  to  take  place  in  the 
religion,  government,  and  domestic  economy,  of  the  island — "that 
Tamahamaha,  the  chiefs,  and  priests,  were  to  continue,  as  usual,  to 
officiate,  with  the  same  authority  as  before,  in  their  respective  stations, 
and  that  no  alteration  in  those  particulars  was  in  any  degree  thought 
of  or  intended."  So  soon  as  this  resolution  was  announced,  Lieu- 
tenant Puget,  the  commander  of  the  Chatham,  landed,  displayed 
the  British  colors,  and  took  possession  of  the  island  in  the  name  of 
his  sovereign ;  after  which  a  salute  was  fired  from  the  vessels,  and  a 
copper  plate  was  deposited  in  a  conspicuous  place  at  the  royal  resi- 
dence, bearing  the  following  inscription :  "  On  the  25th  of  February, 
1794,  Tamahamaha,  king  of  Owyhee,  in  council  with  the  principal 
chiefs  of  the  island,  assembled  on  board  his  Britannic  majesty's 
sloop  Discovery,  in  Karakakooa  Bay,  and,  in  presence  of  George 
Vancouver,  commander  of  the  said  sloop.  Lieutenant  Peter  Puget, 
commander  of  his  said  majesty's  armed  tender  the  Chatham,  and 
the  other  officers  of  the  Discovery,  after  due  consideration,  unani- 
mously ceded  the  said  island  of  Owyhee  to  ^lis  Britannic  majesty, 
and  acknowledged  themselves  to  be  subjects  of  Great  Britain." 

That  Vancouver  assumed  more  than  was  warranted,  in  thus 
asserting  the  cession  of  Owyhee,  and  the  subjection  of  its  chiefs  to 
Great  Britain,  is  clear ;  not  only  from  the  subsequent  declarations 
of  the  chiefs,  that  they  only  intended  to  place  themselves  under  the 
protection  of  that  power,  but  also  from  the  understanding  estab- 
lished between  them  and  the  navigator,  that  there  was  to  be  no 
interference  in  their  internal  concerns.  At  farthest,  the  transaction, 
even  if  ratified  by  the  British  government,  can  only  be  viewed  as 
an  engagement,  on  the  part  of  the  islanders,  not  to  cede  their 
country  to  any  other  nation,  and,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  to 
secure  them  against  conqiwst  or  oppression  by  any  other.  Most 
probably  each  of  the  parties  merely  desired  to  obtain  for  itself  as 


:l: 


252 


TAMAAHMOTO  RECEIVED  BT  VANCOUVER. 


[1794. 


many  advantages  as  could  be  derived  from  the  transaction,  without 
any  intention  to  observe  concomitant  obligations.  Tamahamaha 
expected  to  receive  assistance  from  Great  Britain  in  conquering  the 
remaining  islands  of  the  group ;  and  Vancouver  wished  to  prevent 
other  nations  from  resorting  to  Owyhee.  It  may  be  added,  that 
Great  Britain  has,  to  this  day,  been  little,  if  at  all,  benefited  by  the 
Sandwich  Islands;  and  that  Tamahamaha,  though  he  lived  and 
flourished .  for  twenty-five  years  after  the  transaction  abov&  men- 
tioned, never  received  a  present,  or  even  a  message  of  any  kind, 
from  his  brother  King  George,  to  whom  he,  however,  occasionally 
sent  a  message  by  a  whaling  captain,  reminding  him  that  Vancou- 
ver's promise  of  a  ship  of  war  had  not  yet  been  fulfilled.  No  such 
promise  is  recorded  in  the  journal  of  Vancouver ;  though  it  there 
appears  that  the  islanders  had  reason  to  believe  that  a  vessel  of  war 
would  be  sent,  for  their  protection,  from  Great  Britain. 

Another  circumstance  connected  with  this  pretended  cession  of 
Owyhee  to  the  British  deserves  particular  notice.  The  consumma- 
tion was  delayed  for  some  time,  on  account  of  the  absence  of 
Tamaahmoto,  or  Kamamoko,  one  of  the  most  powerful  chiefs,  the 
same  who,  in  February,  1790,  captured  the  schooner  Fair  American, 
and  murdered  her  crevi?,  as  already  stated.  Vancouver  had,  at 
first,  refused  to  receive  this  man,  or  to  have  any  intercourse  with 
him ;  but  when  it  was  found  to  be  indispensable  for  the  cession, 
that  Tamaahmoto  should  give  his  vote  in  favor  of  it,  the  British 
comina'}dor  beg^r  "  seriously  to  reflect  on  all  the  circumstances 
that  had  attended  his  visits  to  the  islands ; "  and  he,  in  the  end, 
became  "  thoroughly  convinced  that  implacable  resentment  or  un- 
relenting anger,  exhibited  in  his  own  practice,  would  ill  accord 
with  the  precepts  which  he  had  endeavored  to  inculcate  for  the 
regulation  of  theirs."  He  therefore  "determined,  by  an  act  of 
oblivion  in  his  own  mind,  to  efTace  all  former  injuries  and  offences," 
which  he  probably  found  no  difficulty  in  doing,  as  the  injuries  and 
offences  were  committed  against  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  and 
he  accordingly  intimated  that  he  would  "  no  longer  regard  Tamaah- 
moto as  undeserving  forgiveness,  and  would  allow  of  his  paying  the 
compliments  as  he  had  so  repeatedly  requested,  provided  he  would 
engage,  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  that  neither  himself  nor  his 
people  (for  lie  generally  moved  with  a  numerous  train  of  attendants) 
would  behave  in  any  manner  so  as  to  disturb  the  subsisting  harmony." 
On  receiving  this  intimation,  Tamaahmoto  readily  came  forward ; 
he  was  admitted  to.  the  table  of  the  British  commander,  and  was 


1794.]  VANCOUVER  COMPLETES  THE  SURVEY  OF  THE  COAST.    253 

one  of  the  tieven  chiefs  who  assented  to  the  cession.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  show  what  inference  the  natives  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands  might  draw  from  a  comparison  between  the  favor  tliua 
shown  to  the  murderer  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
trial  and  execution  of  the  persons  who  were  cliargcd  with  causing 
tiie  deaths  of  the  officers  of  the  British  vessel  at  Woahoo.* 

Soon  after  these  transactions,  the  British  navigators  took  their 
final  leave  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and,  returning  to  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America,  examined  every  port  which  they  had  not  previ- 
ously visited,  from  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska,  eastward  and  southward, 
to  Queen  Charlotte's  Island.  They  began  at  Cook's  River,  and, 
having  ascertained  that  no  great  stream  entered  that  bay,  they 
changed  its  name  to  Cook's  Inlet,  which  is  now  ruost  commonly 
applied  to  it.  They  then  proceeded  to  Princ(  ^'^illiam's  Sound,  the 
shores  of  which  were  completely  surveyed ;  tliencc  along  the 

bases  of  Mounts  St.  Elias  and  Fairweather,  lo  the  great  opening 
in  the  coast,  near  the  58th  degree  of  latitude,  which  had  been  called 
by  Cook  Cross  Sound.  In  Cook's  Inlet  and  Prince  William's 
Sound,  they  visited  all  the  Russian  establishments,  of  which  Van- 
couver presents  full  aud  satisfactory  accounts ;  and,  having  succeeded 
in  proving  that  the  place  in  which  Bering  anchored  on  his  last 
expedition  could  be  no  other  than  that  called  Admiralty  Bay,  at 
the  fdot  of  Mount  St.  Elias,  on  the  east,  they  gave  to  it  the  name  of 
Bering's  Bay,  and  as  such  it  generally  appears  on  English  charts  : 
the  Russians  call  it  the  Bay  of  Yakutat. 

Through  Cross  Sound,  Vancouver  passed  into  a  labyrinth  of 
channels,  some  among  islands,  others  running  far  inland,  and  termi- 
nating in  the  midst  of  stupendous  mountains ;  ^and,  having  succeeded 
in  threading  nearly  all  these  passages,  particularly  those  taking  a 
northern  or  eastern  direction,  and  thus  joined  his  survey  with  that  of 
the  preceding  year,  he  considered  his  task  accomplished.  He  had 
made  known  the  existence  of  an  almost  infinite  number  of  islands, 
between  the  54th  and  the  58th  parallels,  in  the  position  assigned 
to  the  Archipelago  of  St.  Lazarus,  in  the  story  of  Fonte's  voyage : 
but  whilst  a  part  of  that  story  thus  seemed  to  be  confirmed,  the 
remainder  was  supposed  to  be  entirely  disproved,  as  no  great  river 

*  Tamaahmoto  did  not,  however,  scruple  to  declare,  two  years  afterwards,  that  he 
would  take  the  first  vessel  which  might  come  within  his  reach ;  and  so  little  effect 
had  the  exeeuiions  at  Woahoo,  that  Captain  Brown,  of  the  British  ship  Butterworth, 
was  killed,  in  January,  1795,  by  the  natives  of  that  island,  in  an  attack  which  they 
made  on  his  vessel  with  the  intention  to  take  her.  —  See  Brougbton'e  acoount  of  hie 
rojigs  in  the  Pwifle,  p.  43. 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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23  WBT  MAIN  STREIT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  USSO 

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254 


STIKIirK     RIVER. 


[1794. 


was  found  issuing  from  the  continent  opposite  these  islands ;  and 
Vancouver  became  well  satisfied  ''that  the  precision  with  which 
his  survey  had  been  conducted  would  remove  every  doubt,  and  set 
aside  every  opinion  of  a  north-west  passage,  or  any  water  communi- 
cation navigable  for  shipping,  between  the  North  Pacific  tind  the 
interior  of  the  American  continent,  within  the  limit  of  his  re- 
searches." The  belief  thus  expressed  by  the  navigator  has  been 
completely  confirmed.  It  must,  nevertheless,  be  admitted  that,  con- 
sidering the  intricacies  in  the  coasts  between  the  48th  and  the  58th 
parallels,  many  passages,  by  which  vessels  could  penetrate  into  the 
interior  of  the  continent,  might  have  long  escaped  the  notice  of  the 
most  careful  observer ;  and  in  evidence  of  this  is  the  fact,  that  a 
river  called  the  Stikine,*  three  miles  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  a  n,^\e 
wlJe  thirty  miles  higher  up,  has  been,  since  Vancouver's  voyage, 
found  entering  the  arm  of  the  sea  named  by  him  Prince  Frederick's 
Sound,  in  the  latitude  of  56  degrees  50  minutes.  Vancouver's 
failure  to  discover  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  should  have  ren- 
dered him  distrustful  of  the  entire  accuracy  of  his  observations  in 
such  cases. 

After  completing  these  discoveries,  Vancouver  took  possession  of 
the  part  of  the  continent  extending  north-westward  of  that  around 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,  which  he  had  named  New  Georgia,  as  far  as 
the  59th  degree  of  latitude,  and  of  all  the  adjacent  islands,  "  in 
the  name  of  his  Britannic  majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,"  with 
the  formalities  usual  on  such  occasions,  including  a  double  allow- 
ance of  grog  to  the  sailors.  He  also  bestowed  upon  the  various 
territories,  straits,  bays,  &.c.,  names  derived  almost  entirely  from 
the  lists  of  the  members  of  the  royal  family,  the  ministry,  the  Par- 
liament, the  army  and  the  navy  of  Great  Britain ;  the  importance 


"  Vancouver  mentions  Stikeen  as  the  name  of  a  country  or  nation  on  the  conti- 
nental shore  of  Prince  Frederick's  Sound ;  and  he  heard,  from  the  natives  farther 
south,  of  a  place  in  that  sound  called  by  them  Uon-iuiss,  which  word  seemed  to  mean 
great  channel.  The  first  inUmation  of  the  existence  of  the  river  was  probably  com- 
municated to  the  world  by  the  captain  of  the  ship  Atahualpa,  of  Boston,  from  whose 
journal  an  extract  is  published  in  the  Collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society  for  1804,  p.  242.    The  captain  there  says, — 

"  August  25th,  1802.  I  had  some  conversation  with  Cou  (a  chief  of  an  island  near 
Queen  Charlotte's  Sound)  respecting  the  natives  who  inhabit  the  country  back  of 
Stikeen :  he  had  his  information  from  Cokshoo,  the  Stikeen  chief  •  •  •  Qqu 
also  informs  me  that  the  place  called  JVaw,  or  Uoiv-nass  (spoken  of  by  Vancouver)  by 
the  natives  in  Chebassa  Strait,  (Prince  Frederick's  Sound,)  is  the  mouth  of  a  river  of 
very  considerable  extent,  but  unknown,  navigable  for  vessels  or  large  canoes."  Near 
this  place,  the  Atahualpa  waa  attacked,  in  January,  1805,  and  her  captun,  mate,  and 
■ix  seunen,  were  killed :  the  othen  of  her  crew  succeeded  in  esci^iiig  with  the  veeael. 


1794.] 


NAMES   or   PLACES    ON   THE   NORTH-WEST   COAST. 


865 


of  the  place  thus  distinguished  being  generally  in  proportion  to  the 
rank  of  the  individual.  Thus  we  find  upon  his  chart  of  the  north- 
west archipelago,  the  large  islands  or  groups  of  King  Oeorge  the 
Third,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  the  Duke  of  York,  and  the  Admiralty ; 
with  the  smaller  ones  of  Pitt,  Hawkesbury,  Dundat,  and  Burke ; 
between  which  are  the  Duke  of  Clarence's  Strait,  Prince  Frederick^ e 
Sound,  Chatham  Canal,  Grenville  Canal,  and  Stephens's  Passage : 
,  a  small  group,  near  the  55th  parallel,  partially  surveyed  by  Caamano, 
in  1791,  was  allowed  to  retain  the  name  o;  Revillagigedo  blands, 
in  honor  of  the  enlightened  viceroy  of  Mexico.  The  capes,  bays, 
and  smaller  points  or  channels,  are  distributed  among  the  Windhams, 
fValpoles,  and  other  high  families,  principally  those  belonging  to 
the  Tory  party;  one  little  point  being,  however,  vouchsafed  to 
Charles  James  Fox.  Without  questioning  the  right  of  the  discov- 
erer to  impose  these  names,  it  may  be  observed,  that  none  of  them 
will,  in  all  probability,  ever  be  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  region 
in  which  the  place  so  called  is  situated.  The  Russians,  who  occupy 
the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  main-land  north  of  the  54th  parallel, 
rigorously  exclude  from  their  charts,  and  from  use  in  every  way,  the 
appellations  assigned  to  places  in  their  dominions  by  people  of  other 
civilized  countries ;  and  even  the  British  traders,  whose  posts  extend 
through  the  parts  of  the  continent  distinguished  by  Vancouver  as 
New  Georgia,  New  Hanover,  New  Cornwall,  and  New  Norfolk, 
appear  to  be  entirely  ignorant  of  those  names. 

From  the  northern  coasts,  Vancouver,  when  his  labor  was  ended, 
went  to  Nootka,  where  he  found  the  Spaniards  still  in  possession, 
under  the  coAimand  of  Brigadier  Alava ;  Quadra  having  died  in  the 
preceding  spring,  at  San  Bias.  As  no  information  had  been  received 
there  from  Europe  respecting  the  surrender  of  the  territoricn,  the 
British  commander  sailed  to  Monterey,  where  he  learned  that  the 
question  had  been  "  adjusted  by  the  two  courts  amicably,  and  nearly 
on  the  terms  which  he  had  repeatedly  offered  to  Quadra  in  Sep- 
tember, 1792;"  and  also  "that  the  business  was  not  to  be  carried 
into  execution  by  him,  as  a  fresh  commission  had  been  issued  for 
the  purpose  by  the  court  of  London."  Under  these  circumstances, 
he  resolved  to  return  immediately  to  Europe ;  and  he  accordingly 
quitted  Monterey  on  the  2d  of  December,  1794.  On  his  way 
southward,  he  examined  the  Californian  coast,  though  not  minutely, 
as  far  as  Cape  San  Lucas,  from  which  he  took  his  departure  for 
Valparaiso,  in  Chili.  After  a  short  stay  at  that  place,  he  passed 
around  Cape  Horn,  and  arrived  in  England  in  November,  1795 ; 


856 


END   Of  THE   irOOTKA   COMTROVERSr 


[179«. 


having  completed,  in  the  most  effectual  manner,  the  mvMt  extensive 
nautical  survey  which  had  ever  been  made  in  one  expedition.* 

No  account  has  yet  transpired  of  the  negotiation  between  the 
courts  of  London  and  Madrid,  respecting  the  extent  of  territory,  and 
the  buildings  on  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  which  were  to  be 
restored  to  British  subjects,  after  the  reference  of  that  question  to 
them  by  their  commissioners.  Lieutenant  Broughton,  who  had 
been  despatched  to  England  by  Vancouver  in  1793,  was  thence 
sent  by  the  government  on  this  business  to  Madrid ;  and,  on  his 
return  to  London,  he  was  ordered  to  proceed  to  the  North  Pacific, 
in  the  sloop  Providence,  for  the  purpose  of  surveying  the  coasts  of 
Asia,  near.  Japan,  being  commissioned,  at  the  same  time,  to  receive 
possession  of  the  territories  at  Nootka,  in  case  the  restitution  should 
not  have  been  previously  made.  He  accordingly  sailed  from  Eng- 
land for  Nootka,  where,  in  April,  1796,  he  was  informed,  by  letters 
left  in  charge  of  Maquinna,t  "  that  the  Spaniards  had  delivered  up 
the  port  of  Nootka,  &.c.,  to  Lieutenant  Pierce,  of  the  marines, 
agreeably  to  the  mode  of  restitution  settled  between  the  two  courts," 

*  Vancouver's  journal  and  charts  were  published  at  London  in  1798,  before'which 
period  the  navigator  had  sunk  into  the  grave.  His  journal  is  a  simple  record  of  obser- 
vations and  occurrences,  written  in  a  plain  and  intelligible,  though  homely  and  un- 
pretending style ;  and  it  is  entirely  free  ttom  those  displays  of  imagination,  in  the 
nhape  of  long  political  and  philosophical  disquisitions  with  which  such  works  are 
oflen  overloaded.  The  charts  and  views  of  the  land  are  admirably  executed,  and  their 
accuracy  has  been  since  generally  confirmed.  We  are,  in  fact,  indebted  to  Vancouver 
and  his  officers  for  our  knowledge  of  the  outline  of  the  whole  western  coasts  of  Amer- 
ica, from  the  peninsula  of  California  to  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska;  of  which  all  the 
principal  points  have  been  ascertained  with  the  utmost  precision,  sq  that  succeeding 
navigators  have  only  had  to  make  corrections  in  the  intermediate  spaces.  Vancouver 
himself  yna  certainly  a  man  of  great  courage,  perseverance,  and  professional  skill, 
possessing  also  good  temper  and  good  feelings,  except  with  regard  to  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  against  whom  and  their  country  he  cherished  the  most  bitter  animosity. 
Wliile  admitting,  with  frankness,  the  merits  of  subjects  of  other  nations,  as  discoverers 
or  aa  men,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  unworthy  means  to  deprive  the  Americans  of 
the  reputation  which  they  had  justly  earned  by  their  labors  in  exploring,  and  to  blacken 
their  characters  as  individuals :  for  this  object,  he  made  uso  of  misrepresentations, 
misstatements,  insinuations,  and  concealments,  whenever  occasions  presented  them- 
selves; and  that  which  he  would  have  commended  in  a  Briton,  or  excused  in  a  Rus- 
sian or  a  Spaniard,  became  criminal  in  his  eyes  when  committed  by  a  citizen  of  the 
hated  republic.  He,  nevertheless,  appears  to  have  given  satisfaction  to  all  with 
whom  he  came  personally  into  communication.  Ingraham  speaks  of  him  with  the 
utmost  respect,  and  acknowledges  his  obligations  for  the  uniform  kindness  of  the 
British  navigator.  In  the  Sandwich  Islands  his  memory  is  universally  cherished. 
He  was  long  expected  to  return  and  establish  himself  there,  as  a  commissioner  from 
his  sovereign ;  and  he  probably  would  have  been  admitted  among  the  number  of 
their  gods,  if  the  ship  which  he  is  said  to  have  promised  to  Tamahamaha  had  tret 
oeen  sent. 

t  Journal  of  a  Voyage  in  the  Pacific,  by  Captain  Robert  Broughton,  p.  50.        ^ 


1795.]      UELIVERT   OT    NOOTKA   TO   THE    BRITISH    CLAIMANTS.        257 

in  March,  1795,  after  which  the  place  had  been  entirely  evacuated 
by  both  parties.  Broughton,  however,  affords  no  information  as 
to  the  mode  of  restitution  thus  settled  and  pursued  on  the  occasion 
of  the  delivery  ;  nor  is  any  light  thrown  on  that  point  by  the  des- 
patch of  Pearce  to  the  British  minister.'*^  Belsham,  whose  ac- 
counts of  these  affairs,  though  in  many  respects  erroneous,  are 
much  more  conformable  with  the  evidence  than  those  of  any  other 
European  historian,  writes,  in  1808,  "  It  is  nevertheless  certain,  from 
the  most  authentic  subsequent  information,  that  the  Spanish  flag 
flying  at  Nootka  was  never  struck,  and  that  the  territory  has  been 
virtually  relinquished  by  Great  Britain."  No  Spanish  account  has 
been  given  to  the  world ;  but  we  learn  from  unquestionable  author- 
ity! that,  in  the  preceding  year,  orders  had  been  sent  from  Mexico 
for  the  abandonment  of  Nootka  by  the  forces  of  that  nation. 

*  After  long  and  repeated  researcheB  on  this  subject,  the  author  succeeded  in 
discovering  the  following  extract  from  the  despatch  of  Lieutenant  Pearce  to  his 
grace  the  duke  of  Portland,  which  was  published  officially  in  London,  on  the  13th 
of  September,  1795. 

"  Tepie,  JVew  Galieia,  200  miles  to  JV.  W.  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  April  5J5,  1795. 

"  I  have  the  honor  of  acquainting  your  grace,  that,  in  obedience  to  your  instruc- 
tions, I  proceeded  from  Monterey  to  Nootka,  in  company  with  Brigadier-General 
Alava,  the  officer  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  court  of  Spain  for  finally  terminat- 
ing the  negotiations  relative  to  that  post ;  where,  having  satisfied  myself  respecting 
the  state  of  the  country  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  preparations 
were  immediately  made  for  dismantling  the  fort  which  the  Spaniards  had  erected 
on  an  island  that  guarded  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  and  embarking  the  ordnance. 
By  the  morning  of  the  28th,  all  the  artillery  were  embarked,  part  on  board  of  his 
Catholic  majesty's  sloop  of  war,  Acvive,  and  part  on  board  of  the  San  Carlos 
guard-ship.  Brigadier-General  Alava  and  myself  then  met,  agreeably  to  our  re- 
spective instructions,  on  the  place  where  formerly  the  British  buildings  stood, 
where  we  signed  and  exchanged  the  declaration,  and  counter-declaration,  for  re- 
storing those  lands  to  his  majesty,  as  agreed  upon  between  the  two  courts.  After 
which  ceremony,  I  ordered  the  British  flag  to  be  hoisted,  in  token  of  possession, 
and  the  general  gave  directions  for  the  troops  to  embark." 

This  seems  to  have  been  all  that  was  ever  officially  published  on  the  subject ; 
and  from  it,  no  doubt,  was  derived  the  account  of  the  transaction  given  in  the 
Histoire  Abr6ge  dcs  Trait^s  de  Paix,  by  Koch  and  Schoell,  vol.  4,  p.  125. 

t  In  the  library  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  is  an  interesting  Spanish  manu- 
script, presented  by  General  Tornel,  during  his  residence  in  the  United  States  as 
minister  from  Mexico,  entitled  '^  Instruccion  reservada  del  Reyno  de  Nueva  Espaiia 
que  el  Exmo.  Sefior  Virrey  Conde  de  Revillagigedo  di6  d  su  Sucesor  el  Exmo.  Se- 
nor  Marques  de  Branciforte  en  el  Afio  de  1794." — Secret  Instructions  respecting 
the  Kingdom  of  JVeto  Spain,  given,  in  1794,  by  the  Viceroy,  Count  de  Revillagigedo, 
to  his  Successor,  the  Marquis  de  Branctforte.  This  work,  which  abounds  in  curious 
details  relative  to  the  administration  of  affairs  in  Mexico,  has  been  carefully  ex- 
amined with  reference  to  the  points  in  question ;  but  nothing  has  been  collected 
from  it,  except  in  confirmation  of  statements  elsewhere  made.  The  paragraphs 
from  703  to  713,  inclusive,  are  devoted  to  the  Marine  Department  of  San  Bias,  to 
which,  as  already  mentioned,  the  care  of  the  Spanish  colonies  in  California  was 

3.3 


S58 


TERMS    OF   TH£    DELIVERT    OF    NOOTKA. 


[1795. 


Between  these  accounts,  however,  there  are  really  no  discrepan- 
cies. The  fort  at  Nootka  was  dismantled  and  abandoned  by  the 
Spaniards ;  and  they  could  have  had  no  further  object  in  maintain- 
ing it,  even  supposing  its  occupation  to  have  been,  what  it  seems  not 
to  have  been,  conformable  with  the  convention.  The  British  commis- 
sioner hoisted  the  flag  of  his  nation  over  the  lands  given  up  to  his 
countrymen,  and  the  Spaniards  may  have  left  their  flag  flying  over 
the  spot  which  they  had  occupied.  As  to  the  virtual  abandonment 
of  the  territory  by  Great  Britain,  the  supposition  is  confirmed  by  facts ; 
for,  after  the  visit  of  Broughton  to  Nootka,  in  1796,  no  British  sub- 
ject, sa  far  as  known,  touched  at  that  spot  for  nearly  twenty  years. 

With  regard  to  the  mode  of  restitution  settled  between  the  courts 
of  London  and  Madrid,  nothing  can  be  learned  fVom  Pearce's  de- 
spatch, or  from  any  other  known  source.  Vancouver  states  it  to 
have  been  nearly  the  same  which  he  had  offered  to  Quadra,  in  Sep- 
tember, 1792.  On  that  occasion,  the  British  commissioner  had 
required  the  unconditional  surrender,  to  his  sovereign,  of  all  the 
territories  of  Nootka  and  Clyoquot ;  and  the  Spaniards,  while  de- 
nying that  British  subjects  had  been  ever  dispossessed  of  any  lands 
at  either  place,  had,  nevertheless,  agreed  to  give  up  those  temporarily 
occupied  by  Meares,  in  1789,  provided  that  Nootka  were  recognized 
as  the  northernmost  Spanish  possession,  and  all  south  of  it  as  be- 
longing to  Spain.  These  were  the  questions  referred  by  the  com- 
missioners, in  1792,  to  their  courts.  At  the  time  when  the  reference 
reached  Europe,  Spain  had  just  made  ample  reparation  to  the  Brit- 
ish claimants,  for  their  losses  at  Nootka,  by  the  payment  of  two 
hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars,  besides  restoring  their  vessels ; 
and  the  two  nations  were  engaged  in  concluding  a  treaty  of  alliance 
defensive  and  offensive  against  France,  which  was  signed  at  Aran- 
juez  on  the  25lh  of  May,  1793.  Under  these  circumstances,  it  is 
more  reasonable  to  suppose  the  agreement  to  have  been,  that  the 
lands  at  Nootka  should  be  delivered  up  in  form,  to  save  the  credit 
of  the  British  ministry,  and  that  both  parties  should  abandon  the 
north-west  coast  of  America,  than  that  either  should  have  persisted 
in  its  original  demand  at  a  moment  when  their  cordial  union  and 
cooperation  was  so  desirable  for  both. 

committed.  The  count  recommends  to  his  saccessor  the  maintenance  of  those 
colonies,  as  the  best  means  of  preserving  Mexico  from  foreign  influences ;  advis- 
ing him,  at  the  same  time,  however,  not  to  extend  the  establishments  bcvond  the 
Strait  of  Fuca.  With  regard  to  Nootka,  it  is  merely  stated,  in  paragraph  713,  that 
orders  had  been  sent  to  the  commandant  to  abandon  the  place,  agreeably  to  a  royal 
4ietiimm 


1796.]  ABROGATION  OF  THE  NOOTKA  CONVENTION  BT  WAR. 


259 


The  alliance  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain  proved  so  disas- 
trous  to  the  latter,  that  she  was  obliged,  in  July,  1796,  to  make 
peace  with  France,  and,  in  October  following,  to  declare  war 
against  her  former  ally.  Great  Britain,  which  lasted,  with  the  inter- 
mission of  two  years  of  doubtful  relations  after  the  treaty  of 
Amiens,  until  1809.  From  the  moment  of  this  declaration  of  war, 
the  Nootka  Convention  ceased  to  have  effect,  agreeably  to  the  uni- 
versal rule  of  national  law,  observed  by  all  civilized  states,  that  all 
treaties  expire  on  the  commencement  of  war  between  the  parties  to 
them.  From  that  moment  all  the  privileges  allowed,  and  restric- 
tions imposed,  by  the  convention  were  terminated,  and  each  nation 
was  left  at  liberty  to  pursue  its  own  course  with  regard  to  the  seas 
and  territories  to  which  that  agreement  related.  Spain  might  again 
claim  the  exclusive  navigation  of  the  Pacific  and  Southern  Oceans, 
and  the  exclusive  sovereignty  of  the  parts  of  America  bordering  on 
them ;  and  Great  Britain  might  again  assert  her  right  to  sail  in  any 
open  sea,  and  to  occupy,  and  possess  in  sovereignty,  any  vacant 
coasts. 


Note.  —  On  this  question  of  national  law  and  usage,  it  will  be  convenient  here  to 
present  a  few  observations. 

A  treaty  or  convention  is  a  record  of  engagements  between  two  or  more  na- 
tions, to  perform,  or  to  abstain  from,  certain  acts,  under  certain  circumstances  of 
time,  place  and  occasion,  as  specified  either  directly  or  implicitly  by  the  terms  of  the 
compact ;  and  as  these  engagements  are  supposed  to  be  for  the  advantage  of  one  or 
more  of  the  parties,  so  are  they  necessarily  understood  to  subsist  only  during  peace 
between  them,  unless  otherwise  especially  declared.  (Vattel,  Book  3,  chap.  10,  sec. 
175.)  A  nation,  when  resorting  to  war,  by  the  same  right  employs  every  means  in  its 
power  to  distress  its  enemy,  and  to  benefit  itself;  without  regard  to  any  engagements 
not  specially  referring  to  a  state  of  hostilities,  or  to  any  restrictions  as  to  the  means 
employed,  except  such  as  it  may  choose  to  observe,  from  respect  to  the  dictates  of 
humanity  or  the  opinion  of  the  world. 

War  between  civilized  nations  commonly  ends  by  consent  of  the  parties,  ex* 
pressed  in  a  treaty  of  peace.  The  mere  declaration  that  there  shall  be  peace,  however, 
establishes  nothing  more  than  that  hostilities  between  the  parties  shall  cease  from  that 
moment:  it  merely  reduces  them  to  inertia;  the  restoration  of  conquests,  the  evacua- 
tion of  territories  invaded,  even  the  release  of  prisoners,  must  be  made  the  subjects  of 
separate  express  stipulations.  In  all  points  for  which  provision  is  not  thus  dearly 
made,  each  party  may  legally  remain  in  the  exact  position  held  by  it  at  the  moment 
of  concluding  the  treaty  of  peace.  (Vattel,  Book  4,  chap.  2,  sec.  19,21.)  That  such  is 
the  practice  of  nations,  every  treaty  of  peace  will  show ;  and  none  more  unequivo- 
cally, than  the  two  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 

The  restoration  of  peace,  therefore,  does  not  of  itself  produce  necessarily  a  revival 
of  engagements  existing  when  the  war  began.  As  the  peace  is  supposed  to  be  made 
with  the  free  will  of  all  the  parties,  so  must  the  revival  of  former  engagements,  as 
well  as  the  contraction  of  new  ones,  be  regarded  as  made  with  the  entire  consent  of 
each ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  any  class  of  agreements,  the  revival  of  which 
may  not,  after  a  war,  be  considered  by  some  party  as  deleterious  to  its  interests.  It 
is  consequently  clear,  that  some  general  understanding  should  exist ;  and  that  tnaties 


260 


ALL  TREATIES  ARE  ABROGATED  BT  WAR. 


[1796. 


of  peace  nhould,  in  order  to  answer  their  end,  ■how  unequivocally  —  what  previous 
compaota  are  to  be  restored  to  force,  all  others  being  regarded  as  null  —  or  which  are 
to  be  annulled,  all  others  being  revived.  To  leave  such  poinU  undetermined,  would 
be  only  to  open  the  way  for  a  speedy  rupture  of  the  peace. 

Of  the  two  alternatives  thus  presented,  the  simpler  rule  is  evidently  that  —  ieAicA 
teave*  txtinct  all  engagements  made  previous  to  the  war,  except  those  restored  to  force 
by  the  specific  terms  of  the  treaty  of  peace;  and  that  this  rule  has  been  pursued  inva- 
riably by  civilized  nations,  ever  since  national  law  was  first  defined  and  reduced  to 
piinoiples,  all  the  treaties  of  peace  made  within  the  two  last  centuries  prove  beyond 
question.  Thus  the  treaties  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  of  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  1748,  of  Paris, 
in  1763,  and  of  Versailles,  in  1783,  distinctly  declare  what  treaties,  existing  previous 
to  the  war  ended  by  each  compact,  are  to  be  renewed,  either  wholly  or  in  part,  uncon- 
ditionally or  with  exceptions;  all  others  being  ipso  facto  considered  null  and  void. 
The  French  revolution  so  completely  changed  the  face  of  Europe,  that  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries at  Amiens,  in  1802,  found  nothing  in  previous  treaties  which  could  not 
be  expressed  more  easily  by  new  stipulations ;  and  the  treaties  of  Amiens  were  in 
their  turn  considered  as  nearly  obsolete  in  1814,  when  those  concluded  at  Vienna 
again  referred  to  provisions  made  at  Utrecht  a  hundred  years  before. 

Some  eminent  writers  on  national  law  have  however  attempted  to  establish  a  par- 
ticular class  of  treaties,  to  be  called  Transitory  Compacts,  including  those  for  cessions  or 
exchange  of  territory,  settlement  of  boundaries,  and  other  objects,  which  are  to  be 
regarded  as  "  perpetual  in  their  nature,  so  that  being  once  carried  into  rffeet,  they  subsist 
independent  of  any  change  in  the  sovereignty  and  form  of  government  of  the  con- 
tracting parties ;  and,  although  their  operation  may  in  some  cases  be  suspended  during 
war,  they  revive,  on  the  return  of  peace,  without  any  express  stipulation.*'  (Wheaton's 
Elements  of  Internationol  Law,  Part  3,  chap.  2,  sec.  7.  —  See,  also,  Marten's  Precis 
du  Droit  des  Gens,  Book  2,  chap.  1,  sec.  5.) 

With  due  respect  to  those  high  authorities,  the  distinction  thus  proposed  seems  to 
be  unnecessary,  if  not  embarrassing ;  and  to  rest  on  a  misapprehension  of  the  nature 
of  a  treaty.  The  class  of  transitory  compacts  would  embrace  only  those,  which  are 
supposed  to  be  intended  to  settle  a  question  definitively  by  some  specified  act  or  acts, 
and  do  not  acquire  this  character  of  perpetuity  until  they  have  been  thus  carried  into 
effect.  But  a  treaty  is  only  a  record  of  engagements ;  when  the  acts  have  been  com- 
pleted, tlie  question  is  closed,  the  engagement  is  cancelled,  and  the  treaty  containing 
it  becomes  merely  a  proof,  to  which  the  parties  may  refer  in  substantiation  of  their  rights 
or  claims.  A  territory  ceded  to  a  nation,  or  confirmed  to  it  by  the  settlement  of  a  bound- 
ary, under  a  valid  treaty,  becomes  thenceforth  as  much  its  property  as  any  other  of 
its  territories  ;  it  may,  like  any  other,  be  transferred  with  a  valid  title  to  another  nation, 
even  during  war  with  the  party  first  ceding  it,  and  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  any  other 
subject  to  the  effects  of  war  and  of  peace.  The  same  principle  applies  to  all  recogni- 
tions or  abdications  of  rights  or  powers,  which  are  nothing  more  than  indicat  uis  of 
certain  acts,  to  be  performed  or  avoided,  for  an  indefinite  period :  during  war  they 
are  of  no  avail ;  if  renewed  by  a  treaty  of  peace,  they  are  binding  on  the  parties,  like 
any  other  engagements ;  though  their  non-renewal  does  not  necessarily  imply  a  release 
from  the  obligation  to  observe  them,  as  they  may,  and  generally  do,  relate  to  what  ia 
already  ordered  by  the  law  of  nature,  by  common  sense,  or  by  the  common  consent 
of  nations.  Thus  the  acknowledgment  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States  of 
America  by  Great  Britain,  in  the  treaty  of  1783,  was  necessary,  not  only  because  the 
latter  power  had  always  previously  refused  and  opposed  it  by  arms,  but  also,  in  order 
to  show  what  territories  and  people  were  embraced  in  the  new  republic ;  but  the  rep- 
etition of  this  acknowledgment,  in  the  treaty  of  1814,  after  thirty  years  of  intercourse, 
in  every  way,  between  the  two  powers,  would  have  been  no  less  absurd  than  the 
insertion  of  an  admission  by  the  United  States,  of  the  capacity  of  Gfeat  Britain  to 
contract  engagements. 


861 


CHAPTER  XII. 


1788  TO  1810. 


Eitablishment  of  the  North- West  Fur  Trading  Company  of  Montreal,  in  1783  — 
Expedition!  of  Mackenzie  to  the  Arctic  Sea  and  to  the  Pacific  Coaat  —  The  Trade 
between  the  North  Pacific  Coasts  of  America  and  Canton  conducted  almost  ex< 
closively  by  Vessels  of  the  United  States  from  1796  to  1814  — Establishment  of 
the  Russian  American  Company  —  Its  Settlements  and  Factories  on  the  American 
Coasts  —  Expedition  of  Krusenstern  through  the  North  Pacific  —  Proposition  of 
the  Russian  Government  to  that  of  the  United  States,  with  Regard  to  the  Trade 
of  the  North  Pacific. 


Whilst  the  navigators  of  various  nations  were  thus  completing 
the  survey  of  the  shores  of  North- West  America,  important  infor- 
mation respecting  the  interior  regions  of  that  section  of  the  conti- 
nent was  obtained  by  the  agents  of  an  association  formed  at 
Montreal,  in  1784,  for  the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  Indian 
territories,  which  were  supposed  to  be  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

Before  Canada  came  into  the  possession  of  Great  Britain,  a  large, 
if  not  the  greater,  portion  of  the  furs  sent  from  America  by  the 
subjects  of  that  power  was  shipped  from  New  York.  After  that 
period,  Montreal  became  the  principal  seat  of  the  trade ;  and  dis- 
putes immediately  arose  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which 
claimed  the  whole  division  of  America  drained  by  streams  falliniK 
into  that  sea,  and  the  Canadians,  who  pursued  their  trade  in  tl  c 
southern  and  western  parts  of  that  territory.  These  disputes,  with 
which  the  British  government  did  not,  from  policy,  choose  to  inter- 
fere, were  injurious  to  the  interests  of  both  parties ;  and,  the  Indian 
countries  north  of  Lake  Superior  having  been,  about  the  same 
time,  almost  depopulated  by  the  smallpox,  the  trade  was  confined, 
for  some  years,  to  the  environs  of  Hudson's  Bay,  the  lower  lakes, 
end  the  St.  Lawrence,  where  the  animals  were  less  numerous,  and 
their  furs  inferior  in  quality. 

At  length,  about  the  year  1775,  some  enterprising  merchants  of 
Montrf"U  penetrated  into  the  countries,  far  north-west  of  Lake 
Superior,  drained  by  the  Saskatchawine  and  Athabasca  Rivers, 


863 


NORTH-WEST    COMPANY    FORMED. 


(1784. 


which  had  long  before  been  frequented  by  the  French  ;  and  their 
•uccen  in  trade  was  such  as  to  induce  others  to  make  similar  expe- 
ditions. The  Canadians  were,  however,  exposed,  on  their  way,  to 
great  difficulties  and  onnoyanccs  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
with  which  they  were  unable  separately  to  contend ;  and  they,  in 
consequence,  in  the  year  1784,  united  their  interests,  and  assumed 
for  their  association  the  title  of  the  North-  West  Company  of  Mon- 
treal. Other  associations  were  afterwards  formed,  but  they  were 
soon  either  dissolved  or  united  with  the  North-West  Company. 

The  oi^nization  of  this  new  company  was  such  as  to  insure  the 
utmost  regularity  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  concern 
among  all  who  were  engaged  in  its  service.  The  number  of  the 
shares  was  at  first  sixteen,  but  was  afterwards  increased  to  twenty, 
and  then  to  forty.  A  certain  proportion  of  them  was  held  by  the 
agents,  residing  in  Montreal,  who  furnished  the  capital ;  the  remain- 
der being  distributed  among  the  proprietors,  or  partners,  who  super- 
intended the  business  in  the  forts  or  posts  in  the  interior,  and  the 
clerks,  who  traded  directly  with  the  Indians.  The  clerks  were 
young  men  (for  the  most  part  natives  of  Scotland)  who  entered  the 
service  of  the  company  for  five  or  seven  years ;  and,  at  the  end  of 
that  time,  or  even  earlier,  if  they  conducted  themselves  well,  they 
were  admitted  as  proprietors.  The  inferior  servants  of  the  com- 
pany were  guides,  interpreters,  and  voyageurs,  —  the  latter  being 
employed  as  porters  on  land  and  as  boatmen  on  the  water,  —  all  of 
whom  were  bound  to  the  interests  of  the  body  by  hopes  of  advance- 
ment, in  station  or  in  pay,  and  of  pensions  in  their  old  age. 

Before  the  formation  of  the  North- West  Company,  the  farther- 
most trading  establishment  of  British  subjects  was  one  on  the 
Athabasca  or  EHk  River,  about  twelve  hundred  miles  north-west  of 
•  Lake  Superior,  which  had  been  founded,  by  Messrs.  Frobisher  and 
Pond,  in  1778 ;  and  this  continued  to  be  the  principal  post  in  that 
■  part  of  the  continent  for  ten  years,  when  it  was  abandoned,  and 
another,  called  Fort  Chipewyan,  was  established  on  the  south-west 
side  of  the  Athabasca  Lake,  or  Lake  of  the  Hills,  into  which 
the  Elk  River  dischai^es  its  waters.    In  the  mean  time,  several 
large  parties  had  been  sent,  for  the  purposes  of  trade  and  discovery, 
'  from  Canada  towards  the  west  —  one  of  which,  consisting  of  about 
a  hundred  men,  penetrated  to  the  foot  of  the  great  dividing  chain 
then  called  the  Shining  Mountains,  or  Mountains  of  Bright  Stones, 
and  now  commonly  known  as  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;'**  but  they  were 


CoUeetioni  of  the  MaMaobawtU  Hiitorieal  Society  for  1794,  p.  81- 


1789.] 


MAOKBirZIX    RIAOHH   TOT    ABOTIC    IBA. 


968 


unable  to  proceed  farther,  in  coniequence  of  the  hostile  ditpotitions 
of  the  natives. 

Between  1788  and  1794,  two  other  expeditions  were  made  from 
Fort  Chipewyan  by  Mr.  Alexander  Mackenzie,  the  superintending 
proprietor  at  that  place,  of  which  a  particular  account  should  be 
here  given,  as  the  geographical  information  obtained  in  them  was 
highly  interesting,  and  led  to  important  commercial  and  poUtical 
results.* 

The  Athabasca  Lake  is  a  basin  about  two  hundred  miles  in 
length  from  east  to  west,  and  about  thirteen  in  average  breadth,  sit- 
uated under  the  59th  parallel  of  latitude,  midway  between  the 
Pacific  Ocean  and  Hudson's  Bay.  It  is  supplied  by  several  streams, 
of  which  the  principal  are  the  Athabasca  or  Elk  River,  flowing  from 
the  south,  and  the  Unjigah  or  Peace  River,  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, on  the  west ;  and  its  waters  are  discharged  through  the  Slave 
River,  running  about  two  hundred  miles  north,  into  the  Great  Slave 
Lake,  discovered  by  Hearne  in  1771.  All  these  rivers  join  the 
Athabasca  Lake  at  its  south-west  end,  near  which  Fort  Chipewyan 
was  then  situated. 

Mackenzie's  first  expedition  was  made  in  1789,  and  its  principal 
object  was  to  ascertain  the  course  of  the  waters  from  the  Great  Slave 
Lake  to  the  sea,  which  Hearne  had  left  undetermined.  For  this 
purpose,  he  left  Fort  Chipewyan,  with  his  party,  in  bark  canoes,  on 
the  3d  of  June,  1789,  and,  passing  down  the  Slave  River  into  the 
Great  Slave  Lake,  he  discovered  a  large  stream  flowing  out  of  the 
latter  basin,  at  its  north-west  extremity,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
of  Mackenzie  River;  and  this  stream  he  descended  about  nine 
hundred  miles,  in  a  north-west  direction,  along  the  base  of  a  chain 
of  mountains,  to  its  termination  in  the  sea.  On  his  return,  he 
examined  the  country  east  of  his  great  river,  which  had  been 
traversed  by  Hearne,  and  arrived  at  Fort  Chipewyan  on  the  12th 
of  September,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  three  months. 

The  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  was  supposed  by  its  discoverer  to 
be  situated  near  the  69th  degree  of  latitude,  and  about  25  degrees 
of  longitude,  or  five  hundred  miles,  west  of  the  mouth  of  Hearne's 
Coppermine  River,  which  is  not  far  from  its  tue  position  .f     Still 


*  Voyages  from  Montreal,  on  the  River  St.  Lawrence,  through  the  Continent  of 
North  America,  to  the  Frozen  and  the  Pacific  Oceans,  in  1789  and  1793,  with  a  pre- 
liminary Account  of  the  Fur  Trade  of  that  Country ;  by  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie. 
London,  1801. 

t  Its  principal  mouth  is  in  latitude  69°,  longitude  136°  west  ftom  Greenwich. 


fl64 


MAOKBVm  I   ^OtmNBT  TO  THI   PAOIFIO. 


(1798 


farther  weit  must,  of  coune,  be  situated  any  pamge  or  tea  con 
necting  the  Pacific  with  the  part  of  the  ocean  into  which  both  thoM 
riven  were  lupposed  to  empty;  and  the  existence  of  any  luch 
passage  east  of  Bering's  Strait  became,  in  consequence,  much  lesi 
probable. 

In  his  second  expedition,  Mackenzie  quitted  Fort  Chipewyan  on 
the  10th  of  October,  1793,  and  ascended  the  Unjigah  or  Peace 
River,  from  the  Athabasca  Lake,  with  much  difficulty,  to  the  foot 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  he  spent  the  winter  in  camp.  In 
June  of  the  following  year,  he  resumed  his  voyage  up  the  same 
stream,  which  he  traced,  in  a  south-west  direction,  through  the 
mountains,  .to  its  springs,  near  the  54th  degree  of  latitude,  distant 
more  than  nine  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth.  Within  half  a  mile 
of  one  of  these  springs,  he  embarked  on  another  stream,  called  by  the 
natives  Tacoutchec-Tessee,  down  which  he  floated  in  canoes  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles ;  then,  leaving  the  river,  he  proceeded 
westward  about  two  hundred  miles  over  land,  and,  on  the  33d  of 
July,  1793,  he  reached  the  Pacific  Ocean,  at  the  mouth  of  an  inlet, 
in  the  latitude  of  52  degrees  30  minutes,  which  had,  a  few  weeks 
previous,  been  surveyed  by  Vancouver,  and  been  named  the  Cascade 
Canal.  Having  thus  accomplished  a  passage  across  the  American 
continent  at  its  widest  part,  he  retraced  his  steps  to  Fort  Chipewyan, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  34th  of  August. 

By  this  expedition,  Mackenzie  ascertained  beyond  all  doubt  the 
fact  of  the  extension  of  the  American  contment,  on  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  undivided  by  any  water  passage,  as  far  north  as  the  latitude 
of  53  degrees  30  minutes ;  which  fact  was,  about  the  same  time, 
rendered  nearly,  though  not  absolutely,  certain  by  the  examinations 
of  Vancouver.  The  River  Tacoutchee-Tessee  was  supposed  to  bo 
the  upper  part  of  the  Columbia,  until  1813,  when  it  was  traced  to 
its  mouth,  in  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  near  the  49th  degree  of  latitude ; 
and  since  that  time  it  has  been  called  Fraaer's  River. 

The  discoveries  of  Mackenzie,  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  re- 
sults of  Vancouver's  surveys,  strengthened  the  conclusion,  at  which 
Cook  had  arrived,  that  the  American  continent  extended  uninter- 
ruptedly north-westward  to  Bering's  Strait;  and  Mackenzie  him- 
self conceived,  though  certainly  without  sufficient  grounds,  that  ho 
had  clearly  determined  in  the  negative  the  long-agitated  question 
as  to  the  practicability  of  a  voyage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
around  the  northern  shores  of  America.  For  the  advancement  of 
British  interests  in  the  North  Pacific,  he  recommended  that  the 


1799.] 


JOUmNBTf   or    riOLBR   AND   TRVDSAV. 


866 


Iludion'i  Bay  and  the  North-Weit  Companiei,  which  had  been 
oppowd  to  each  other  ever  since  the  formation  of  the  latter,  should 
be  united ;  that  the  British  government  should  favor  the  establish- 
ment of  commercial  communications  across  North  America,  for 
which  the  rivers  and  lakes  in  the  portion  claimed  by  him  for  that 
power  afforded  unrivalled  facilities ;  and  that  the  East  India  Com- 
pany ihould  throw  open  to  their  fellow-subjects  the  direct  trade 
between  the  north-west  coasts  of  America  and  China,  which  was 
then,  he  says,  <*  left  to  the  adventurers  of  the  United  States,  acting 
without  regularity  or  capital,  or  the  desire  of  conciliating  future 
confidence,  and  looking  only  to  the  interest  of  the  moment." 
These  leoommendations  were  not  thrown  away,  but  were  nearly  all 
adopted  by  those  to  whom  they  were  addressed ;  and  the  result  has 
been,  the  extension  of  British  commerce  and  dominion  throughout 
the  whole  northern  section  of  America. 

Whilst  Mackenzie  was  engaged  in  his  journey  to  the  Pacific 
coast,  Mr.  Fidler,  a  clerk  in  the  service  of  the  North- West  Company, 
made  an  expedition  from  Fort  Buckingham,  a  trading-post  on  the 
Saskatchawine  River,  south-westward,  to  the  foot  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,*  along  which  he  seems  to  have  travelled,  through  the 
regions  drained  by  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri.  About  the 
same  time,  several  trading  voyages  were  made  up  the  Missouri  by 
the  French  and  Spaniards  of  St.  Louis ;  particularly  by  the  mem- 
l>er8  of  a  company  formed  at  that  place  by  a  Scotchman  named 
Todd,  under  the  special  protection  of  the  Spanish  government,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  monopolize  the  whole  trade  of  the  interior 
and  western  portions  of  the  continent.-)- 

The  trade  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  witti  thf  Indians 
in  the  central  portion  of  the  continent  was  much  restricted,  for 
many  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  independence  of  the 
republic,  in  consequence  of  the  possession  of  Louisiana  by  the 
Spaniards,  and  the  retention  by  the  British  of  several  important 
posts  south  of  the  great  lakes,  within  the  territory  acknowledged  as 


"  On  Arrowamith'a  ^^Map  of  all  the  new  Diseoveriea  in  Jfortk  Jimniea"  publiihed 
at  London  in  1705,  several  streams  are  represented,  on  the  authority  of  Mr.  Fidler, 
OS  flowing  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  both  sides  -,  but  none  corresponding  with 
them  in  course  or  position  have  been  since  found. 

t  The  journal  of  one  of  these  voyages,  made  by  M.  Trudeau,  in  1794,  has  been 
preserved  in  the  archives  of  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington ;  it  is,  however, 
devoted  chiefly  to  the  numbers,  manners,  customs,  religion,  &c.,  of  the  natives  on 
the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  particularly  of  the  Ariokaraa,  inhabiting  the  country 
under  the  46th  parallel  of  latitude. 

34 


266 


AMERICAN    COMUKRCC    IN   THE    PACIFIC.       [1796 1814. 


belonging  to  the  Union,  by  the  treaty  of  1783.  At  length,  by  the 
treaty  of  November  19,  1794,  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States,  it  was  agreed  that  these  posts  should  be  given  up 
to  the  Americans,  and  that  the  people  of  both  nations,  and  the 
Indians  "  dwelling  on  either  side  of  the  boundary  line,  should  have 
liberty  freely  to  pass  and  repass,  by  land  or  inland  navigation,  into 
the  respective  territories  of  the  two  parties,  or  ♦he  continent  of 
America,  (the  country  within  the  limits  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  only 
excepted,)  and  to  navigate  all  the  lakes,  rivers,  and  waters  thereof, 
and  freely  to  carry  on  trade  with  each  other."  The  surrender  of 
these  posts,  especially  of  Detroit  and  Michilimackinac,  was  very 
inconvenient  to  the  North- West  Company,  whilst  the  traii6  of  the 
Americans  with  the  central  regions  was  thereby  increased;  and 
large  quantities  of  furs  were  annually  transported  to  the  Atlantic 
cities,  principally  to  New  York,  from  which  place  they  were  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  United  States,  or  shipped  for  London  or 
Canton. 

On  the  North  Pacific,  the  direct  trade  between  the  American 
coasts  and  China  remained,  from  1796  to  1814,  almost  entirely,  as 
Mackenzie  said,  in  the  hands  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States : 
the  British  merchants  were  restrained  from  engaging  in  it  by  the 
opposition  of  their  East  India  Company;  the  Russians  were  not 
admitted  into  Chinese  ports ;  and  few  ships  of  any  other  nation 
were  seen  in  that  part  of  the  ocean.  That  these  American 
"adventurers  acted  without  regularity  or  capital,  or  the  desire  of 
conciliating  future  confidence,  and  looking  only  to  the  interest  of  the 
moment,"  was  also,  to  a  certain  extent,  true ;  though  the  facts  can 
scarcely  be  considered  discreditable  to  them,  as  Mackenzie  insinu- 
ated, even  supposing  their  operations  to  have  been  conducted  in 
the  manner  represented  by  a  British  writer,  whose  hostility  to  the 
United  States  and  their  citizens  was  even  more  violent  than  that  of 
Vancouver. 

"These  adventurers,"  says  the  writer  above  mentioned,*  "set 
out  on  the  voyage  with  a  few  trinkets  of  very  little  value.  In  the 
Southern  Pacific,  they  pick  up  some  seal-skins,  and  perhaps  a  few 
butts  of  oil ;  at  the  Gallipagos,  they  lay  in  turtle,  of  which  they 


•  Review  of  "A  Voyage  around  the  World,  from  1806  to  1812,  by  Archibald 
Campbell,"  in  the  London  Quarterly  Roview  for  OcUAter,  1816,  written  in  a  spirit  of 
the  moat  deadly  hatred  towards  the  United  SUtes,  and  filled  with. assertions  most 
impadently  false. 


1796 — 1814.]      AMERICAN   COMMERCE   IN  THE   PACiriC. 


267 


preserve  the  shells ;  at  Valparaiso,  they  raise  a  few  dollars  in  ex- 
change for  European  articles ;  at  Nootka,  and  other  parts  of  the 
north-west  coasts,  they  traffic  with  the  natives  for  furs,  which,  when 
winter  commences,  they  carry  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  to  dry  and 
preserve  from  vermin;  here  they  leave  their  own  people  to  take 
care  of  them,  and,  in  the  spring,  embark,  in  lieu,  the  natives 
of  the  islands,  to  assist  in  navigating  to  the  north-west  coast,  in 
search  of  more  skins.  The  remainder  of  the  cargo  is  then  made 
up  of  sandal,  which  grows  abundantly  in  the  woods  of  Atooi  and 
Owyhee,  of  tortoise  shells,  sharks'  fins,  and  pearls  of  an  inferior 
kind,  [meaning,  probably,  mother-of-pearl  shells,]  all  of  which  are 
acceptable  ill  the  China  market ;  and  with  these  and  their  dollars 
they  purchase  cargoes  of  tea,  silks,  and  nankins,  and  thus  complete 
their  voyage  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  ycurs."  >iu 

This  account  appears  to  be,  in  most  respects,  correct,  with  regard 
to  many  of  the  American  vessels  engaged  in  the  Pacific  trade  at  the 
period  to  which  it  relates ;  and  it  serves  only  to  prove  the  industry, 
energy,  courage,  and  skill,  of  those  who  embarked  in  such  difficult 
and  perilous  enterprises,  and  conducted  them  so  successfully.  It 
would,  however,  be  easy  to  show,  from  custom-house  returns  and 
other  authentic  evidence,  that  the  greater  number  of  the  vessels  sent 
from  the  United  States  to  the  north-west  coasts  were  fine  ships 
or  brigs,  laden  with  valuable  cargoes  of  West  India  productions, 
British  manufactured  articles,  and  French,  Italian,  and  Spanish 
wines  and  spirits  ;  and  that  the  owners  were  men  of  large  capital 
and  high  reputation  in  the  commercial  world,  some  of  whom  were 
able  to  compete  with  the  British  companies,  and  even  occasionally 
to  control  their  movements. 

The  American  traders  in  the  Pacific  have  also  been  accused,  by 
British  writers,  of  practising  every  species  of  fraud  and  violence  in 
their  dealings  with  the  natives  of  the  coasts  of  that  sea :  yet  the 
acts  cited  in  support  of  these  general  accusations  are  only  such  as 
have  been,  and  ever  will  be,  committed'  by  people  of  civilized 
nations,  —  and  by  none  more  frequently  than  the  British,  —  when 
unrestrained  by  laws,  in  their  intercourse  with  ignorant,  brutal,  and 
treacherous  savages,  always  ready  to  rob  or  murder  upon  the 
slightest  prospect  of  gain,  or  in  revenge  for  the  slightest  affiront. 
Seldom  did  an  American  ship  complete  a  voyage  through  the 
Pacific  without  the  loss  of  some  of  her  men,  by  the  treachery  or 
the  ferocity  of  the  natives  of  the  coasts  which  she  visited ;  and 


068 


AMfilUCiN   COMM&BOB   IN   THE    PACiriC.      [1796—1814. 


several  instances  hare  occurred  of  the  seizure  of  such  vessels,  and 
the  massacre  of  their  whole  crews,  in  this  manner.* 

All  the  islands  in  the  Pacific,  and  every  part  of  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America,  were  visited  by  the  vessels  of  the  United  States 
in  the  course  of  these  voyages.  Their  principal  places  of  resort 
were  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  they  obtained  fresh  provisions, 
and  occasionally  seamen  from  among  the  natives ;  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia,  Nootka  Sound,  and  Queen  Charlotte's  Island,  in 
which  they  traded  with'  the  Indians  for  furs.  They  occasionally 
touched  at  the  ports  of  California,  where  they  were,  however,  viewed 
with  great  distrust  by  the  Spanish  authorities ;  and  they  generally 
made  the  tour  of  the  Russian  settlements,  which  derived  from  the 
Americans,  in  this  way,  the  greater  part  of  their  supplies  of  European 
manufactures,  ammunition,  sugar,  wines,  and  spirits,  in  exchange  for 
peltries.  The  furs  were,  as  before,  sold  in  Canton,  at  prices  not 
high,  though  sufficient  to  encourage  a  moderate  importation ;  but 
they  seldom  formed  the  whole  cargo  of  the  vessels  arriving  there, 
the  remainder  being  composed  of  sandal-wood,  and  pearl  and  tor- 
toise shells.  I  I 

The  Sandwich  Islands  fell  in  succession  under  the  authority  of 
Tamahamaha,  who  displayed  admirable  sagacity  in  his  mode  of 
conducting  the  government,  anid  all  the  dangers  and  difficulties 
arising  from  internal  oppositi'  i  and  the  constant  presence  of  stran- 
gers of  various  nations.  Like  the  present  pacha  of  Egypt,  he  was 
not  only  the  political  chief,  but  also  the  chief  merchant  of  his 
territories :  in  his  minw  commercial  operations  he  was  generally 


*  In  1805,  the  ship  Atahoalpa,  of  Rhode  Island,  was  attacked  by  tne  savages  in 
Millbank  Sound,  and  her  captain,  mate,  and  six  seamen,  were  killed ;  after  which 
the  other  seamen  succeeded  in  repelling  the  assailants  and  saving  the  vessel.  In 
March,  1803,  the  ship  Boston,  of  Boston,  while  lying  at  Nootka  Sound,  was  attacked 
by  Maquinna  and  his  followers,  wlio  obtained  possession  of  her,  and  put  to  death  all 
on  board,  with  the  exception  of  two  men,  who,  after  remaining  in  slavery  four 
years,  effected  their  escape.  In  the  same  manner,  the  ship  Tonquin  was,  in  June, 
1811,  seized  by  the  natives,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  her  whole  crew 
murdered  in  a  moment,  as  will  be  hereafter  more  particularly  related ;  and  other 
instances  of  a  similar  nature  might  be  cited. 

The  account  of  the  capture  of  the  Boston,  by  John  R.  Jewitt,  the  armorer  of  the 
■hip,  contains  many  curious  details  respecting  the  country  around  Nootka  Sound, 
and  its  inhabitants,  as  observed  by  the  author  during  his  residence  there,  from 
1803  to  1807.  This  little  work  has  been  frequently  reprinted,  and,  though  seldom 
found  in  libraries,  is  much  read  by  boys  and  seamen  in  the  United  States.  It  presents 
tlie  last  notices  which  have  been  found  on  record  of  Maquinna,  for  whom  Jewitt 
aDjnars  to  have  entertained  a  great  admi^tioti. 


1799.] 


RUSSIAN    AmCtllCAN   COMPANT   BSTABLIIBED. 


f60 


successful ;  but  when  he  ventured  to  extend  the  scale  of  his  specu- 
lations, by  sending  vessels  laden  with  sandal-wood  to  Canton,  he 
was,  as  he  asserted,  always  cheated  by  those  to  whom  he  committed 
the  management  of  the  business. 

In  California,  the  Franciscan  missionaries  were  proceeding 
steadily  in  their  course,  and  the  number  of  their  converts  was 
daily  increasing.  The  government  appears  to  have  been  liberal  in 
the  appropriation  of  funds  for  their  use ;  but,  in  Spanish  America,  a 
long  time  always  elapsed  between  the  issue  of  an  order  for  supplies 
and  their  deUvery,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  amount  originally 
ordered  was  generally  subtracted  before  it  reached  those  for  whose 
use  it  was  designed.  Soldiers,  whose  terms  had  expired,  were  also, 
in  some  cases,  allowed  to  remain  in  the  country ;  and  the  com- 
mandants permitted  a  little  contraband  trade  with  the  Americans, 
who  introduced  manufactured  articles  in  return  for  hides. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Russians  of  Northern  Asia,  though  ex- 
cluded from  the  ports  of  China,  continued  their  commerce  with 
that  empire,  as  also  with  Europe,  as  formerly,  by  means  of  caravans 
passing  over  land ;  the  communications  being  conducted  principally 
by  a  company  established  at  Irkutsk,  the  great  mart  of  that  part  of 
the  world.  The  fur  trade  of  the  northernmost  coasts  of  the  Pacific 
was  monopolized  by  the  association,  formed  in  1781,  under  the 
direction  of  Schelikof  and  GoUikof,  which  was  protected  by  the 
empress  Catharine,  and  endowed  with  many  important  privileges. 
After  the  death  of  Catharine,  in  1794,  her  son  and  successor,  Paul, 
at  first  determined  to  put  an  end  to  the  association,  on  account  of 
the  alleged  cruelty  of  its  agents  towards  the  natives  of  the  American 
coasts :  he  was,  however,  induced  to  change  his  resolution  ;  and,  a 
union  having  been  effected,  in  1798,  between  the  two  companies 
above  mentioned,  a  decree  was  issued,  on  the  8th  of  July  of  the 
following  year,  conceding  to  them,  under  the  title  of  the  Rutaian 
American  Company,  the  entire  use  and  control,  for  twenty  years,  of 
all  the  coasts  of  America  on  the  Pacific,  from  the  55th  degree  of 
north  latitude  to  Bering's  Strait,  together  with  the  adjacent  islands, 
including  the  Kurile  and  the  Aleutian  groups,  all  of  which  were 
claimed  as  having  been  discovered  by  Russians.  The  company 
was  also  authorized  to  explore,  and  bring  under  subjection  to  the 
imperial  crown,  any  other  territories  in  America  not  previously 
attached  to  the  dominions  of  some  civilized  nation ;  with  the 
express  provision  that  the  natives  of  all  these  countries  should 
be  treated  with  kindness,  and,  if  possible,  be   converted  to  the 


270 


BU88IAN   ESTABLISHMENTS   IN   AMERICA. 


[1806. 


Greek  Catholic  faith.  These  privileges  were  confirmed  and  in- 
creased by  the  emperor  Alexander,  whose  chief  minister  of  state, 
Count  RomanzofT,  was  a  zealous  promoter  of  all  that  could  tend  to 
advance  the  power  and  interests  of  Russia  in  the  Pacific ;  and  the 
company  still  enjoys  the  favor  of  the  government,  its  charter  having 
been  renewed  by  successive  decrees  in  1821  and  1839. 

Under  these  advantageous  circumstances,  combined  with  great 
skill  and  energy  in  the  management  of  its  afiairs,  and  aided  by  the 
constant  increase  of  facilities  for  communication  throughout  the 
empire,  the  Russian  American  Company  prospered ;  and  its  estab- 
lishments soon  extended  over  the  whole  of  the  Aleutian  Archipelago, 
and  thence  .eastward  along  the  coast  and  islands  of  the  American 
continent,  to  the  distance  of  more  than  a  thousand  miles.  In  1803, 
the  most  eastern  of  these  establishments  was  on  Norfolk  Sound,  the 
Port  Guadelupe  of  the  Spaniards,  near  the  56th  degree  of  latitude, 
at  the  southern  entrance  of  the  passage  which  separates  Mount 
San  Jacinto  or  Edgecumb  from  the  largest  island  of  King  George 
III.'s  Archipelago.  This  settlement,  founded  in  1799,  was  de- 
stroyed, in  1803,  by  the  natives  of  the  country,  with  the  assistance, 
as  it  is  said,  of  some  seamen  who  had  deserted  from  an  American 
vessel ;  but  another  was  formed  there  in  1805,  which  received  the 
name  of  New  Archangel  of  Sitca,  and  has  ever  since  been  the 
capital  of  Russian  America.  The  other  principal  establishments 
of  the  company  were  in  Unalashka  and  Kodiak,  and  on  the  shores 
of  Cook's  Inlet,  Prince  William's  Sound,  and  Admiralty  or  Bering's 
Bay.  In  1806,  preparations  were  made  for  occupying  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  River ;  but  the  plan  was  abandoned,  although  that 
spot,  and  the  whole  region  north  of  it,  was  then,  and  for  some  time 
after  continued  to  be,  represented,  on  the  maps  published  by  the 
company,  as  within  the  limits  of  its  rightful  possessions. 

The  population  of  each  of  these  establishments  consisted  princi- 
pally of  natives  of  America,  brought  by  the  Russians  from  other  and 
distant  parts  of  the  coast ;  between  whom  and  the  people  of  the 
surrounding  country  there  were  no  ties  of  kindred  or  language, 
and  there  could  be  little  community  of  feelings  or  interests.  The 
Aleutian  Islands  and  Kodiak  furnished  the  greater  number  of  these 
forced  emigrants,  and  also  a  large  proportion  of  the  crews  of  the 
vessels  employed  in  the  service  of  the  company.  The  Russians 
were  enlisted  in  Kamtchatka  and  Siberia,  for  a  term  of  years : 
they  entered  as  Promuschleniks,  or  adventurers,  and  were  employed, 
according  to  the  will  of  their  superiors,  as  soldiers,  sailors,  hunters, 


1806.1 


OOVEBNMENT   OT    RUSSIAN    AMERICA. 


271 


fishermen,  or  mechanics ;  in  the  best  of  which  situations  their  lot 
was  more  wretched  than  that  of  any  other  class  of  human  beings 
within  the  pale  of  civilization,  or,  indeed,  of  any  other  class  of  per- 
sons whatsoever,  except  the  natives  of  the  American  coasts,  whom 
they  assisted  in  keeping  under  subjection.  Under  such  circum- 
stances, it  will  be  easily  believed  that  ''  none  but  vagabonds  and 
adventurers  ever  entered  the  company's  service  as  Promuschleniks ; " 
that  "  it  was  their  invariable  destiny  to  pass  a  life  of  wretchedness 
in  America ; "  that  "  few  had  the  good  fortune  ever  to  touch  Rus- 
sian ground  again,  and  very  few  to  attain  the  object  of  their  wishes 
by  returning  to  Europe."  * 

The  government  of  Russian  America  was  arranged  on  a  plan 
even  more  despotic  than  that  of  the  other  parts  of  the  empire. 
The  general  superintendence  of  the  afiairs  of  the  company  was  in 
the  hands  of  a  Directory,  residing  at  St.  Petersburg,  by  which  all 
the  regulations  and  appointments  were  made,  and  all  questions 
were  decided,  with  the  approval,  however,  of  the  imperial  depart- 
ment of  commerce.  All  the  territories  belonging  to  the  company, 
and  all  persons  and  things  in  them,  were  placed  under  the  control 
of  a  chief  agent  or  governor,  residing  at  Kodiak  or  Sitca,  from 
whose  orders  there  was  no  appeal,  except  to  the  Directory :  in  like 
manner,  each  district  or  group  of  settlements  was  ruled  by  an 
inferior  agent,  accountable  directly  to  the  governor-general;  and 
each  factory  or  settlement  was  commanded  by  an  overseer,  chosen 
from  among  the  Promuschleniks,  who  possessed  the  right  to  pun- 
ish, to  a  certain  extent,  those  within  the  circle  of  his  authority. 

The  regulations  for  the  government  of  these  territories  were, 
like  those  of  the  Spanish  Council  of  the  Indies,  generally  just  and 
humane ;  but  the  enforcement  of  them,  as  in  Spanish  America,  was 
intrusted,  for  some  time,  to  men  with  whom  justice  and  humanity 
were  subordinate  to  expediency.  The  first  chief  agent  was  Alex- 
ander Baranof,  who  had  accompanied  Schelikof  in  his  expedition  in 
1783,  and  was  the  superintendent  of  the  settlements  at  Kodiak  and 
Cook's  Inlet  when  Vancouver  visited  those  places  in  1794.  He  was 
a  shrewd,  bold,  enterprising,  and  unfeeling  man,  of  iron  frame  and 
nerves,  and  the  coarsest  habits  and  manners.  By  his  inflexible 
severity  and  energy,  he  seems  to  have  maintained  absolute  and  in- 
dependent sway  over  all  the  Russian  American  coasts  for  more  than 
twenty  years ;  showing  little  respect  to  the  orders  of  the  Directory, 


*  Kraieiutera's  Account  of  his  Voyage  to  the  North  Pacific. 


272 


eorCRNMENT   Of    RUSSIAN    AMERICA. 


[1806. 


and  even  to  those  of  the  emperor,  when  they  were  at  variance  with 
his  own  views.  He  was,  however,  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the 
company,  and,  its  affairs  being  most  profitably  managed  under  his 
direction,  he  was  allowed  to  follow  his  own  course,  and  the  com- 
plaints against  him  which  reached  the  Directory  were  unheeded. 
These  complaints  were,  it  is  true,  not  frequent ;  for  the  Directory 
and  the  imperial  throne  at  St.  Petersburg  were  almost  as  completely 
inaccessible  to  the  subjects  and  servants  of  the  company  residing  in 
America,  as  they  would  have  been  in  another  planet.  Among  the  in- 
ferior agents  were  men  of  higher  and  better  character  than  their  chief; 
but  they  were  forced  to  bend  under  his  authority,  and  their  efforts 
to  introduce  improvements  were  vain,  if  they  in  any  degree  conflicted 
with  his  views  as  to  the  immediate  interests  of  the  company. 

Of  the  furs  which  formed  the  whole  returns  from  these  territories, 
some  were  transported  in  the  company's  vessels  to  Petropawlowsk 
and  Ochotsk,  whence  were  brought  back  the  greater  part  of  the 
supplies  of  provisions  for  the  use  of  the  establishments;  the  re- 
mainder of  the  furs  being  exchanged  for  arms,  ammunition,  spirits, 
wine,  tobacco,  sugar,  and  European  manufactures,  furnished  by  the 
trading  ships  of  the  United  States,  of  which  a  large  number  were 
then  constantly  employed  in  the  North  Pacific.  The  presence  of 
these  American  vessels  was  by  no  means  agreeable  to  the  Russians, 
who  would  willingly  have  excluded  them  from  that  part  of  the 
ocean,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  monopolizing  the  fur  trade,  but 
also  in  order  to  prevent  the  natives  of  the  coasts  from  obtaining 
arms  and  ammunition  from  thp  Americans,  as  they  frequently  did, 
to  the  detriment  of  the  authority  and  interests  of  the  company. 
This,  however,  could  not  have  been  effected  without  maintaining  a 
large  naival  force  in  the  North  Pacific;  nor  could  the  settlements 
have  been  extended  or  supported  without  the  supplies  furnished  by 
the  Americans,  unless  a  direct  intercourse  were  established  by  sea 
with  Europe,  China,  or  Japan. 

With  the  view  of  inquiring  what  measures  would  be  most  effect- 
ual for  the  advancement  of  the  interests  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  in  these  and  other  respects,  it  was  determined  at  St. 
Petersburg,  in  1803,  that  an  expedition,  scientific  and  political, 
should  be  made  through  the  North  Pacific.  Two  ships,  the  Na- 
deahda,  commanded  by  Captam  Krusenstern,  and  the  Neva,  by 
Captun  Lisiansky,  were  accordingly  despatched  from  Cronstadt, 
in  August  of  that  year,  under  the  direction  of  Krusenstern,  carry- 
ing out  a  large  body  of  officers  and  men,  distinguished  in  various 


1806.] 


VQTAOS   or    V^RUSENS^I^IUf. 


9V8 


branches  of  science,  together  with  the  chamberlain,  Vop  Resanofi*, 
who  was  commissioned  as  ambassador  to  Japan,  and  &>  plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  Russian  American  Directory. 

The  two  ships  passed  together  around  Cape  Horu,  touched  at  the 
Washington  and  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  then  separated;  the 
Neva  going  to  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  and  the  Nadeshda 
to  Petropawlowsk,  where  she  arrived  in  the  middle  of  July,  1804. 
From  Kamtchatka,  Krusenstern  proceeded,  with  the  ambassador,  to 
Nangasaki,  the  capital  of  Japan,  at  which  place  their  arrival  only 
served  to  excite  suspicions :  they  were  not  allowed  to  land,  except 
for  the  purpose  of  taking  exercise  in  a  confined  space ;  the  letter 
and  presents  of  the  Russian  emperor  were  rejected ;  and  the  am- 
bassador was  distinctly  informed  that  no  vessels  belonging  to  his 
nation  would,  in  future,  be  permitted  to  enter  a  Japanese  port. 
After  this  rebuff,  the  Nadeshda  returned  to  Kamtchatka,  and  Kru- 
senstern passed  several  months  in  examining  the  coasts  of  Tartary 
and  the  adjacent  islands  between  that  peninsula  and  Japan  ;  these 
labors  being  completed,  he  went  to  Canton,  where  she  arrived  in  the 
end  of  November,  1805. 

Lisiansky,  in  the  Neva,  had,  in  the  mean  time,  visited  Sitca, 
Kodiak,  and  other  Russian  establishments,  on  the  north-west  coasts 
of  America,  at  which  his  presence  was  advantageous  to  the  interests 
of  the  company,  by  controlling  the  hostile  dispositions  of  the  natives ; 
and  having  performed  all  that  could  be  done  by  him  in  that  quar- 
ter, he  proceeded  to  Canton,  with  a  cargo  of  furs,  and  there  rejoined 
Krusenstern,  in  December,  1805.  The  Chinese  were  found  equally 
as  determined  as  the  Japanese  to  allow  no  commerce  by  sea  with 
the  Russians;  and  many  difficulties  were  experienced  before  the 
furs  brought  by  the  Neva  could  be  landed  for  sale.  This  business 
being  at  length  despatched,  the  two  vessels  took  their  departure, 
and,  sailing  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  reached  Cronstadt  in 
August,  1806,  having  carried  the  Russian  flog  for  the  first  time 
across  the  equator  and  around  the  world. 

In  the  mean  time,  also,  Von  Resanoff, — a  singularly  ridiculous 
and  incpmpetent  person, — after  the  failure  of  his  embassy  to  Japan, 
had  gone,  as  plenipotentiary  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  to 
Sitca,  where  he  passed  the  winter  of  1805-1806,  engaged  in  devis- 
ing plans  for  the  conduct  of  the  company's  affairs,  all  of  which  were 
quietly  set  aside  by  the  chief  agent,  Boranof.  The  propriety  of 
expelling  the  Americans  from  the  North  Pacific  was  at  the  same 
time  rendered  questionable,  by  the  fact  that  the  garrison  and  set- 
35 


874 


▼OTAOB   or   KRDSSirSTBRN. 


[1808. 


I 


tiers  at  this  place  would  have  all  perished  from  famine,  had  thejr 
not  fortunately  been  supplied  with  provisions  by  the  ship  Juno,  from 
Rhode  Island.  This  ship  was  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  company, 
and  Von  ResanofT,  embarking  in  her,  sailed  along  the  coast  to  Cal- 
ifornia, endeavoring,  in  his  way,  but  without  success,  to  enter  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  he  proposed  to  form  a  settlement ; 
and  having  spent  some  time  in  trifling  at  San  Fmncisco,  he  returned 
to  Kamtchatka,  on  his  way  from  which  to  Europe  he  died. 

Though  not  one  of  the  conmiercial  or  political  objects  proposed 
by  this  expedition  was  attained,  it  was,  nevertheless,  productive  of 
great  advantages,  not  only  to  the  Russians,  but  to  the  cause  of  hu- 
manity and  of  science  in  general ;  particularly  by  the  rectification 
of  numerous  errors  in  the  charts  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  by  the 
exposure  of  the  abuses  in  the  administration  of  the  Russian  Amer- 
ican Company's  dominions,  which  led  to  the  immediate  removal  of 
many  of  them.  No  one  could  have  been  better  qualified  for  the 
direction  of  such  an  expedition  than  Krusenstern,  whose  narrative 
is  equally  honorable  to  him  as  a  commander,  as  a  man  of  science, 
and  as  a  philanthropist.  Those  who  wish  to  learn  at  what  cost  of 
human  life  and  suffering  the  furs  of  the  North  Pacific  coasts  are  pro- 
cured, will  And  ample  information  on  the  subject  in  his  pages ;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  he  presents  instances  of  fortitude,  perseverance, 
and  good  feeling,  on  the  part  of  his  countrymen,  calculated  to  coun- 
teract, in  a  great  measure,  the  unfavorable  impressions,  with  regard 
to  them,  which  his  other  details  might  have  produced.'* 

In  1808,  soon  after  the  return  of  Krusenstern's  ships  to  Europe, 
diplomatic  relations  were  established  between  Russia  and  the  United 
States ;  and  in  the  following  year,  a  representation  was  addressed 
by  the  court  of  St.  Petersburg  to  the  government  of  the  Union, 
on  the  subject  of  the  illicit  trade  of  American  citizens  with  the 
natives  of  the  North  Pacific  coasts,  by  means  of  which  those  savages 
were  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition,  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
authority  and  interests  of  the  emperor  and  his  people  in  that  portion 


"  Accounts  of  this  expedition  have  been  published  by  Krusenstern,  by  Lisianeky, 
and  by  Langsdorf,  the  surgeon  of  the  Nadeshda,  all  of  which  have  been  translated 
into  English  and  other  European  languages. 

Krusenstern  was,  soon  afler  his  return  to  Russia,  raised  to  the  rank  of  admiral.  Ho 
iitill  liyes  at  St.  Petersburg,  honored  by  his  government,  and  esteemed  by  all  who 
know  him.  His  communications  frequently  appear  in  the  reports  of  the  proceedings 
of  variotu  scientific  societies  in  Europe;  they  are  chiefly  respecting  the  hydrography 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  to  which  subject  his  labors  have  been  long  and  assiduously 
devoted,  with  results  important  and  beneficial  to  the  whole  world. 


1810.]      PROPOSITIONS    or    RUSSIA  TO   THE   UNITED    STATES.  275 

of  his  dominions.  A  desire  was  at  the  same  time  expressed,  that 
some  act  should  be  passed  by  Congress,  or  some  convention  bo 
concluded  between  the  two  nations,  which  might  have  the  effect  of 
preventing  the  continuance  of  such  irregularities.  No  disposition 
being  shown  by  the  American  government  to  adopt  any  of  those 
measures.  Count  Romanzoff,  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  at  St. 
Petersburg,  proposed  to  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  the  plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  United  States  at  that  court,  an  arrangement,  by  which 
the  vessels  of  the  Union  should  supply  the  Russian  settlements  on 
the  Pacific  with  provisions  and  manufactures,  and  should  transport 
the  furs  of  the  company  to  Canton,  under  the  restriction  of  their 
abstaining  from  all  intercourse  with  the  natives  of  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America.  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  answer,  showed  several 
reasons  for  which  his  government  could  not,  with  propriety,  accede 
to  this  proposition ;  and  he  moreover  desired  to  know  toiihin  what 
limits  it  was  expected  that  the  restriction  should  be  observed.  This 
question  was,  doubtless,  embarrassing  to  the  Russian  minister,  who, 
however,  after  some  time,  replied,  that  the  Russian  American  Com- 
pany claimed  the  whole  coast  of  America  on  the  Pacific  and  the 
adjacent  islands,  from  Bering's  Strait,  southward  to  and  beyond 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River ;  whereupon  the  correspondence 
was  immediately  terminated. 

There  was,  certainly,  no  disposition,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  to  encourage  their  citizens  in  the  trade  which  formed  the 
subject  of  the  complaints  of  the  Russians,  or  to  offend  that  power 
by  refusing  to  cooperate  in  suppressing  such  a  trade.  But  the 
American  government  properly  considered  that  no  means  existed 
for  enforcing  the  restrictions,  with  justice  and  regularity,  even  on 
the  coasts  which  might  be  admitted  to  belong  to  Russia ;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  the  right  of  that  nation  to  the  possession  of  the 
coasts  so  far  south  as  the  Columbia,  could  not  be  recognized,  for 
reasons  which  will  be  made  apparent  in  the  ensuing  chapter. 


976 


CHAPTER   XIIL 


1803  TO  1806. 


CeifioB  of  Louiiiana  by  France  to  the  United  States  —  Inquiriei  aa  to  the  true  Extent 
of  Louisiana — Erroneous  Supposition  that  its  Limits  towards  the  North  had  been 
fixed  by  Commissaries  agreeably  to  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht  —  President  Jefferson 
sends  Lewis  and  Clarke  to  examine  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  —  Account  of  their 
Expedition  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Pacific. 


The  discovery,  or  rediscovery,  of  the  Columbia  River,  by  Gray, 
remained  almost  entirely  unknown,  until  it  was  communicated  to  the 
World  by  the  publication  of  the  narrative  of  Vancouver's  expedition, 
in  1798 ;  at  which  time,  and  for  several  years  afterwards,  no  one 
imagined  that  any  thing  connected  with  that  river  would  ever  be- 
come particularly  interesting  to  the  people  or  government  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 

The  territories  of  the  United  States  weriB,  at  th&t  time,  all  in- 
cluded between  the  Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  east  and  the  Mississippi 
River  on  the  west.  In  the  north  were  the  British  provinces ;  in  the 
south  lay  Florida,  belonging  to  Spain ;  and  beyond  the  Mississippi, 
the  Spaniards  also  claimed  the  vast  region  called  Louisiana,  stretch- 
ing from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  northward  and  north-westward  to  an 
undefined  extent.  Thus  all  communication  between  the  States  of 
the  Federal  Union  and  the  Pacific  was  completely  cut  off,  by  the  in- 
terpofiitioh  of  countries  possessed  by  foreign  and  unfriendly  nations. 

The  position  of  the  United  States,  and  of  their  government  and 
people,  with  regaird  to  the  north-western  portion  of  the  continent, 
was,  however,  entirely  changed  after  the  30th  of  April,  1803,  when 
Louisiana,  which  had  been  ceded  by  Spain  to  France  in  1800,  came 
into  their  possession,  by  purchase  from  the  latter  power.  From  that 
moment,  the  route  across  the  continent  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific lay  open  to  the  Americans ;  and  nothing  could  be  anticipated 
capable  of  arresting  their  progress  in  the  occupation  of  the  whole 
territory  included  between  those  seas. 

Before  relating  the  measures  taken  by  the  government  of  the 
United  States  in  consequence  of  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  it  will 


ieo3.) 


IfOllTHEKN    AND    WESTERN    LIMITS    Or    LOUISIANA. 


87t 


be  convenient  to  present  some  observations  respecting  tht  northern 
lind  western  limits  of  the  territory  thus  acquired. 

It  has  been  already  shown  *  that,  in  llie  month  of  November, 
1762,  France  ceded  to  Spain  «a1l  the  country  known  under  the 
name  of  Louisiana,  as  also  New  Orleans  and  the  island  in  which 
that  city  is  situated,"  without  any  other  description  of  limits  what- 
soever; and  that,  at  the  same  time,  Great  Britain  acquired,  by  the 
Treaty  of  Paris,  all  the  territories  previously  possessed  by  France 
and  Spain,  on  the  American  continent,  east  of  "a  line  drawn 
along  the  middle  of  the  river  Mississippi,  from  its  sourc*e  to  the  river 
Iberville,  and  from  thence  by  a  line  drawn  along  the  middle  of  thid 
river,  and  the  lakes  Maurepas  and  Ponchartrain,  to  the  sea," 
which  line  was  irrevocably  fixed  as  "  the  confines  between  the  do- 
minions of  his  Britannic  majesty  and  those  of  his  most  Christian 
majesty  in  that  part  of  the  world."  The  eastern  boundary  of  the 
Louisiana,  which  France  had  to  surrender  to  Spain,  and  did  so  sur- 
render in  1769,  was  thus  clearly  determined.  In  the  west  and 
south-west,  no  agreement  as  to  limits  had  ever  been  made  between 
those  powers;  and  none  was  required  on  this  occasion,  as  the  ter- 
ritories ceded  to  Spain  joined,  in  those  directions,  other  territories 
already  in  her  possession.  Had  such  a  settlement  of  limits,  how- 
ever, been  then  required,  France  might  have  justly  claimed,  at  least, 
all  the  territories  on  that  side  embraced  in  her  charter  to  Crozat, 
extending  westward  to  the  sources  of  all  the  streams  emptying  into 
the  Mississippi,  upon  the  ground  of  long  and  exclusive  explorations 
and  occupation  during  peace  and  alliance  with  Spain,  without  any 
public  protest  having  been  made,  by  that  power,  against  the  claim 
thus  publicly  advanced  and  maintained. 

With  regard  to  the  northern  boundary,  nothing  had  ever  been 
determined  by  agreement  between  those  nations,  except  that  Great 
Britain,  by  the  tenth  article  of  her  treaty  of  Utrecht  with  France, 
secured  to  herself,  "  to  be  possessed  in  full  right  forever,  the  bay  and 
straits  of  Hudson,  together  with  all  lands,  seas,  sea-coasts,  rivers, 
and  places,  situate  in  the  said  bay  and  straits,  which  belong  there- 
unto, no  tracts  of  land  or  sea  being  excepted  which  are,  at  present, 
possessed  by  the  subjects  of  France."  On  the  side  of  France,  the 
charter  to  Crozat,  by  which  the  extent  of  Louisiana  was  first  de- 
fined and  asserted,  was  in  all  respects  as  valid  as  the  charter  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  ;  and  the  rights  of  that  power  to  the  terri- 
tories described  in  the  former  grant,  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  New 


See  page  102. 


278 


NOBTHCRN    AND    WEBTrRN    LIMITS    Or    L0UI8IAWA.        [1803. 


Orleans,  were  as  fully  confirmed  by  the  seventh  article  of  the  treaty 
of  Paris,  as  those  of  Great  Britain  to  tlie  Hudson's  Bay  territories 
had  been  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  Assuming  this  to  have  been 
the  view  and  intention  of  the  parties  to  the  treaty  of  Paris,  —  and 
no  other  supposition  seems  to  be  admissible,  —  the  line  of  separation 
between  Louisiana  and  the  British  possessions  would  have  then 
passed  along  the  highlands  dividing  the  head-waters  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  its  western  tributaries,  on  the  south,  from  those  of  the 
streams  pouring  into  Hudson's  Bay  on  the  north,  so  far  as  the  re- 
spective territories  extended. 

Whilst  Louisiana  remained  in  the  possession  of  Spain,  no  further 
determination  or  question  was  made  as  to  its  boundaries.  On  the 
1st  of  October,  1800,  a  treaty  was  concluded  between  the  French 
republic  and  the  king  of  Spain,  by  which  the  former  party  engaged 
to  enlarge  the  dominions  of  the  duke  of  Parma,  a  prince  of  the 
royal  family  of  Spain,  by  adding  to  them  some  other  territories  in 
Italy  ;  and  his  Catholic  majesty,  by  the  third  article,  "  engaged,  on 
his  part,  to  retrocede  to  the  French  republic,  six  months  after  the 
full  and  entire  execution  of  the  above-mentioned  conditions  and 
stipulations  relative  to  the  duke  of  Parma,  the  colony  or  province  of 
Louisiana,  with  the  tame  extent  which  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of 
Spain,  and  which  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and  such  as  it 
should  be,  according  to  the  treaties  subsequently  made  between  Spain 
and  other  states."  *  The  conditions  relative  to  the  duke  of  Parma 
having  been  fulfilled,  agreeably  to  a  treaty  of  March  21,  1801, 
Spain  bound  herself  to  perform  her  part,  by  delivering  Louisiana 
to  the  French  republic ;  and  an  order  to  that  effect  was  ac- 
cordingly issued  by  King  Charles  IV.,  at  Barcelona,  on  the  16th 
of  October,  1802.  The  First  Consul,  Bonaparte,  however,  find- 
ing it  impolitic  to  attempt  to  take  possession,  concluded  a  treaty 
with  the  United  States  of  America,  on  the  30th  of  April,  1803, 
wherein,  after  reciting  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  1800,  the 
territory  thus  retroceded  to  France  was  "  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
in  the  name  of  the  French  republic,  forever,  and  in  full  sovereignty, 
with  all  its  rights  and  appurtenances,  as  fully,  and  in  the  same  man- 
ner, as  they  have  been  acquired  by  the  French  republic,  in  virtue  of 
the  above-mentioned  treaty  with  his  Catholic  majesty." 

*  The  treaty  of  October  1st,  1800,  was  never  made  public  until  1820,  when  it 
appeared,  for  the  first  time,  in  the  French  and  Spanish  languages,  in  the  Memoir 
published  at  Madrid  by  the  Chevalier  de  Onis,  formerly  minister  •plenipotentiary 
of  Spain  in  the  United  States,  in  defence  of  his  conduct,  in  concluding  the  treaty 
by  which  Florida  became  the  property  of  the  American  Union. 


1808.] 


LOniflANA  CEDBD  TO  THB   DNITCD   ITATII. 


279 


At  the  time  when  the  treaty  for  the  ceation  of  LouUiana  to  the 
United  Statei  was  concluded,  the  Spui  inrd§  atill  remained  in  pos- 
nession  of  tho  country ;  the  order  from  the  court  of  Madrid  for  the 
delivery  to  France,  was  not  executed  until  tho  30th  of  November, 
1804,  twenty  days  after  which  the  surrcmlcr  to  tho  Aniorican  com- 
missioners took  place  in  due  form  ut  New  Orlcm  h.  The  Spanish 
government  had  already  protested  against  tho  transfer  of  T^-ouisiana 
to  the  United  States,  as  being  contrary  to  cngngements  previouily 
made  by  France,  of  which,  however,  no  proof  was  adduced ;  and 
some  disposition  was  at  first  manifested  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish 
authorities  at  New  Orleans,  and  in  the  provinces  of  Mexico  adjacent, 
to  dispute  the  entrance  of  the  Americans.  This  opposition  was,  how- 
ever, abandoned,  and  a  negotiation  was  commenced  at  Madrid,  in 
1804,  between  the  governments  of  the  United  States  and  Spain, 
for  the  adjustment  of  the  lines  which  were  to  separate  their  re- 
spective territories. 

In  this  negotiation,  the  United  States  claimed  the  whole  of  the 
territory  ceded  by  France  to  Spain  in  1762,  with  the  exception  of 
the  portion  east  of  the  Mississippi,  which  had  been  surrendered  to 
Great  Britain  in  1763 ;  and  this  territory  was  considered  by  thcni 
as  including  the  whole  coast  on  the  Mexican  Gulf,  from  the  Perdidu 
River  as  the  western  limit  of  Florida,  west  and  south  to  the  River 
Bravo  del  Norte  as  the  north-east  boundary  of  Mexico,  with  all  the 
intermediate  rivers  and  all  the  countries  drained  by  them,  not  pre- 
viously possessed  by  the  United  States.  The  Spanish  government, 
on  its  side,  contended — that  France  had  never  rightfully  possessed 
any  part  of  America  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the  whole  of  which 
had  belonged  to  Spain  ever  since  its  discovery  —  that  the  French 
establishments  in  that  territory  were  all  intrusive,  and  had  only 
been  tolerated  by  Spain,  for  the  sake  of  preserving  peace ;  and  — 
that  the  Louisiana  ceded  to  Spain  by  France  in  1762,  and  retro- 
ceded  to  France  in  1800,  and  transferred  by  the  latter  power  to  the 
United  States  in  1803,  could  not,  in  justice,  be  considered  as  com- 
prising more  than  New  Orleans,  with  the  tract  in  its  vicinity  east  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  country  immediately  bordering  on  the  west 
bank  of  that  river.  The  parties  were  thus  completely  at  variance 
on  fundamental  principles ;  and,  neither  being  disposed  to  yield,  the 
negotiation,  after  having  been  carried  on  for  some  months,  was 
broken  oflf,  and  it  was  not  renewed  until  1817.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever, the  United  States  remained  in  possession  of  nearly  all  the 


280 


NORTHERN   BOUNDARY    OF    LOUISIANA. 


[1804. 


territories  drained  by  the  Mississippi ;  the  Sabine  River  beii^,  by 
tacit  consent,  regarded  as  the  dividing  line  between  Louisiana 
and  the  Mexican  provinces. 

A  negotiation  was  at  the  same  time  in  progress,  between  the 
government  of  the  United  States  and  that  of  Great  Britain,  re- 
specting the  northern  boundary  of  Louisiana,  for  which  the  Amer- 
ican^ claimed  a  line  running  along  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude, 
upon  the  grounds  ihat  this  parallel  had  been  adopted  and  definitive- 
ly settled^  by  commissaries  appointed  agreeably  to  the  tenth  article 
of  the  treaty  concluded  at  Utrecht,  in  1713,  as  the  dividing  line 
between  the  French  possessions  of  fVestern  Canada  and  Louisiana  on 
the  soitth,  and  the  British  territories  of  Hudson^ s  Bay  on  the  north ; 
and  that,  this  treaty  having  been  specially  confirmed  in  the  treaty 
of  1763,  by  which  Canada  and  the  part  of  Louisiana  east  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Iberville  were  ceded  to  Great  Britain,  the  remainder 
of  Louisiana  continued,  as  before,  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  49th 
parallel. 

This  conclusion  would  be  undeniable,  if  the  premises  on  which 
it  is  founded  were  correct.  The  tenth  article  of  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht  does  certainly  stipulate  that  commissaries  should  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  governments  of  Great  Britain  and  France  respec- 
tively, to  determine  the  line  of  separation  between  their  possessions 
in  the  northern  part  of  America  above  specified ;  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  persons  were  commissioned  for  that  object : 
but  there  is  no  evidence  which  can  be  admitted  as  establishing  the  fact 
that  a  line  running  along  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  or  any  other 
line,  was  ever  adopted,  or  even  proposed,  by  those  commissaries,  or  by 
their  governments,  as  the  limit  of  any  part  of  the  French  possessions 
on  the  north,  and  of  the  British  Hudson* s  Bay  territories  on  the 
south. 

It  is  true  that,  on  some  maps  of  Northern  America,  published  in 
the  middle  of  the  last  century,  a  line  dratvn  along  the  49th  parallel 
does  appear  as  a  part  of  the  boundary  between  the  French  posses- 
sions and  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories,  as  settled  according  to  the 
.reaty  of  Utrecht :  but,  on  other  maps,  which  are  deservedly  held 
in  higher  estimation,  a  different  line,  following  the  course  of  the 
highlands  encircling  Hudson^s  Bay,  is  presented  as  the  limit  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  territory,  agreeably  to  the  same  treaty ;  and,  in  other 
maps  again,  enjoying  equal,  if  not  greater,  consideration,  as  having 
been  published  under  the  immediate  direction  of  the  'British  gov- 


imt.] 


NOKTBIMN   BOUNBAKT  09  L0f»MillA 


m% 


emoieiit,  n6  ttni  fi^alilitg  ths  doimntotu  tf  thtst  poufer  fnmi 
those  of  Franct  on  the  &mth  it  to  be  eeen.  Nor  is  9,tif  crvidenM' 
whatsoever,  of  such  a  transaction,  to  be  found>  in  thtf  noinereus  ftMu^ 
ieal,  historical,  and  biographical  works,  kt  whicb  it  eould  not  have 
(ailed  to  be  noticed  if  it  had  taken  place ;  nor  have  any  trsices  ef  it 
been  discovered  in  the  archives  of  France  or  of  England,  hf  tbos6' 
who  have  examined  them  with  care  hd' order  to  elucidate  the  hktbry  o€ 
that  period.*  But  had  the  49th  parallel  been  positively  adopted/  as 
the  line  of  separation  between  the  French  and  English  possessiolM, 
that  Itae  could  not  have  been  considered  a»  extending!  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains :  for  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories  were  expressly 
defined  by  the  charter  of  1670,  and  the  Utrecht  treaty,  to  be  those 
drained  by  streams  falling  into  Hudson's  Bfty;<  and  the  charter 
of  Louis  XIV.  to  Grozat,  with  the  decree  annexing  the  Illinois  to 
Louisiana,  the  only  acts  by  which  western  limits  of  the  French  pos- 
sessions in  that  quarter  are  indicated,  as  deariy  restrict  them  to  the 
portion  of  the  continent  traversed  by  rivers  flowing  into  the  Mexi- 
can Gulf.  Neither  of  the  parties  pretended  at  that  time  to  claim  any 
spot  on  the  Pacific  side  of  the  great  dividing  chain. 

During  the  negotiation  above  mentioned,  between  the  British  and 
American  governments,  no  attempt  was  made  by  the  former  to  con*., 
trovert  the  assertions  of  Mr.  Monroe,  as  to  this  supposed  establish- 
ment of  boundaries  under  the  Utrecht  treaty ;  nor  indeed  has  it 
ever  been  publicly  noticed  by  the  British  government  in  any  way  at 
any  time.  In  the  fifth  of  the  additional  and  explanatory  articles  pro- 
posed to  be  annexed  to  the  treaty  signed  by  the  plenipotentiaries  on 
that  occasion,  it  was  agreed  that  "  a  line  drawn  due  north  or  south 
(as  the  case  may  require)  from  the  most  north-western  point  of  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  until  it  shall  intersect  the  49th  parallel  of  north 
latitude,  and  from  the  point  of  such  intersection,  due  west,  along 
and  with  the  said  parallel,  shall  be  the  dividing  line  between  his 
majesty's  territories  and  those  of  the  United  States,  to  the  westward 
of  the  said  lake,  as  far  as  their  said  respective  territories  extend  in 
that  quarter ;  and  that  the  said  line  shall,  to  that  extent,  form  the 
southern  boundary  of  his  majesty's  said  territories,  and  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  said  territories  of  the  United  States : 
Provided,  That  nothing  in  the  present  article  shall  be  con- 
strued to  extend  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  or  to  the  terri- 
tories belonging  to  or  claimed  by  either  party  on  the  continent  of 


'*'  See  page  436,  where  the  question  is  minutely  examined. 
36 


38S 


NORTHEBN   BOUNOABT   OF    LOUISIANA. 


[1807. 


America  to  the  westward  of  the  Stony  Mountains."  *  This  article 
was  approved  by  both  governments;  though  President  Jefferson 
wished  that  the  proviso  respecting  the  north-west  coast  should  be 
omitted,  as  it  "  could  have  little  other  effect  than  as  an  offensive  in- 
timation to  Spain  that  the  claims  of  the  United  States  extend  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  However  reasonable  such  claims  may  be,  compared 
with  those  of  others,  it  is  impolitic,  especially  at  the  present  moment, 
to  strengthen  Spanish  jealousies  of  the  United  States,  which  it  is 
probably  an  object  with  Great  Britain  to  excite,  by  the  clause  in 
question."  The  treaty  thus  amended  was  not  submitted  by  the 
President  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  for  its  confirmation  ; 
and  the  ques^tion  of  boundaries  was  not  again  discussed  between  the 
two  nations  until  1814.  The  belief  that  the  49th  parallel  of  lati- 
tude had  been  fixed,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  as  the 
northern  limit  of  Louisiana  and  Western  Canada,  was  nevertheless 
universally  entertained  in  the  United  States  ;  and  it  remained  en- 
tirely unquestioned,  until  1840,  when  the  error  was  first  exposed,t 
though  not  until  it  had  formed  the  basis  of  important  conventions. 

It  will  be  proper  here  to  notice  another  assertion,  which  has  been 
made  by  some  English  and  French  writers  —  namely,  that  the  Cana- 
da surrendered  by  France  to  England  by  the  treaty  of  1763,  extended 
westward  to  the  Pacific.  The  grounds  on  which  the  claim  of  France 
to  the  regions  on  the  latter  ocean  rested,  before  that  treaty,  have 


*  President  Jefferson's  Message  to  Congress  of  March  22d,  1808. 

f  The  first  public  denial  of  the  accuracy  of  the  assertion,  respecting  this  supposed 
determination  of  limits,  was  made  by  the  author  of  the  present  work  in  a  "  Summary 
of  Facta  respecting  the  North-west  Coast  of  America,"  published  in  the  Washington 
Globe  of  January  15,  1840.  The  proofs  were  first  given  at  length  in  his  "  Memoir  on 
the  North-west  Coast  of  America,"  (page  21ti)  published  by  order  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  in  the  following  month,  and  were  afterwards  repeated  and  strengthened 
in  this  history.  That  the  supposed  settlement  of  boundaries  was  always  asserted,  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  previous  to  this  denial,  is  abundantly  proved 
by  the  records  of  negotiations,  messages  of  Presidents,  reports  to  Congress,  and 
speeches  in  and  out  of  Congress,  on  the  subject  of  Oregon,  from  1805  to  184U. 

Since  that  period,  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  revive  the  belief,  that  the 
boundary  in  question  was  really  established  by  commissaries  appointed  under  the 
Utrecht  treaty  ;  and  a  vast  mass  of  old  maps  and  pamphlets,  mostly  anonymous  or 
misnamed,  newspapers,  speecheSjmessages,  petitions  of  traders,  and  letters  containing 
recollections  of  opinions  expressed  by  individuals  at  dinner  tables,  was  gravely  pro- 
duced on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  the  Spring  of  1846,  as  evi- 
dence of  ihe  transaction  ;  the  conclusion  from  the  whole  being — that,  inasmnch  as  the 
assertion  had  been  printed  in  some  books,  and  engraved  in  some  maps,  and  written  in 
some  President's  messages,  and  communicated  in  some  lecent  diploiiiatic  notes,  and 
spoken  in  some  Congress  speeches,  it  must  necessarily  be  true. 


[1807. 


1807.]     NORTHERN    AND   WESTERN   BOUNDARY   OF    LOUISIANA.         383 


article 
ifferson 
»uld  be 
sive  in- 
i  to  the 
mpared 
(loment, 
ch  it  is 
ause  in 

by  the 
mation ; 
ireen  the 

of  lati- 
,  as  the 
ertheless 
ined  en- 
xpo8ed,t 
(itions. 
has  been 
he  Cana- 
extended 
f  France 

y,  have 


supposed 
Summary 
'^ashington 
Memoir  on 
fiate  of  the 
ngthened 
serted,  by 
tly  proved 
;res8,  and 

that  the 
inder  the 
bymouB  or 
|ontaining 
ively  pro- 
le, as  evi- 
Ich  as  the 
Ivritten  in 
Lotes,  and 


been  already  exposed  ;  in  order  to  show  the  absurdity  of  the  other 
assertion,  it  will  be  merely  necessary  to  recall  to  mind  two  facts :  -— 
first,  that  by  the  treaty  above  mentioned,  the  middle  of  the  Missis- 
sippi from  the  31st  degree  of  latitude  to  its  source,  was  made  irrevo- 
cably the  line  of  separation  between  the  dominions  of  France  and 
those  of  Great  Britain  in  that  part  of  the  continent ;  consequently, 
Canada  could  not  afterwards  have  included  any  spot  west  of  that 
river ;  secondly,  that  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  guarantied  to  Great 
Britain,  the  territories  drained  by  streams  falling  into  Hudson's 
Bay,  which  territories  extend  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  southward  to  and  beyond  the  source  of  the  Mississippi ;  so  that 
Canada  could  not  have  comprehended  any  spot  north  of  that  source. 
The  only  question  respecting  boundaries  which  could  have  arisen 
between  Great  Britain  and  France  after  the  treaty  of  1763,  would 
have  been  as  to  the  upper  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Red  River  of 
Lake  Winnepeg ;  which,  though  its  waters  fall  into  Hudson's  Buy, 
yet  lies  west  of  the  Mississippi.  With  regard  to  the  boundaries 
of  Canada,  the  only  questions  to  be  discussed  would  have  been  be- 
tween the  British  government  and  its  own  colonies,  which  claimed 
nearly  the  whole  territory  obtained  from  France  under  the  treaty. 
''  Thus  although  the  northern  and  western  boundaries  of  the  Lou- 
isiana, ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1S03,  had  never  been  positive- 
ly fixed  by  direct  agreement  between  the  nations  interested,  yet  the 
charters  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  to  Crozat,  and  the  trea- 
ties of  Utrecht  and  Paris,  taken  together,  atTord  ample  means  for  deter- 
mining what  those  boundaries  should  have  been,  agreeably  to  justice, 
at  the  time  of  the  cession  of  the  country  to  Spain,  and  of  course  also 
at  the  time  of  its  transfer  to  the  United  States.  They  must  have 
been  represented  by  a  line,  drawn  from  the  northernmost  sources  of 
the  Mississippi  westward,  along  the  ridge  separating  the  waters  of 
that  river  from  those  flowing  to  Hudson's  Bay,  as  far  as  the  great 
chain  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  thence  southward  along  that 
chain  so  as  to  include  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas  and  Red  Rivers, 
excluding  from  Louisiana,  and  also,  of  course,  from  the  Hudson's 
Bay  possessions,  all  territories  west  of  the  great  dividing  chain. 

Even  before  the  transfer  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States 
was  completed,  the  prompt  and  sagacious  JefTerson  was  preparing 
to  have  it  examined  by  American  agents.  In  January,  1803,  he 
addressed  a  confidential  message  to  Congress,  recommending 
that  means  should  be  taken  for  the  purpose  without  delay  ;  and, 


U 


904  BXViaDITION   OV   LEWIS   AND   CLARKE   TO  THE   WEST.    [1805. 

hi*  Buggeitioni  having  been  approved,  he  commissioned  Captains 
Meriwether  Lewis  and  William  Clarke  to  explore  the  River  Mis- 
souri and  its  principal  branches  to  their  sources,  and  then  to  seek 
and  trace  to  its  termination  in  the  Pacific,  some  stream,  "  whether 
the  Columbia,  the  Oregon,  the  Colorado,  or  any  other,  which  might 
ofier  the  most  direct  and  practicable  water  communication  across 
the  continent,  for  the  purposes  of  commerce."  Other  persons 
were,  at  the  same  time,  appointed  to  examine  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
and'  the  principal  streams  falling  into  that  great  river  from  the  west, 
below  the  Missouri,  in  order  that  exact  information  might,  as  soon 
ft»  possible,  be  procured,  with  regard  to  the  channels  of  communi- 
cation throughout  the  newly-acquired  territories. 

A  few  days  after  Lewis  had  received  his  instructions  as  com- 
mapder  of  the  party  which  was  to  cross  the  continent,  the  news  of 
the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  for  the  cession  of  Louisiana  reached 
the  United  States;  and  he  immediately  set  off  for  the  west,  with 
the  expectation  of  advancing  some  distance  up  the  Missouri  before 
the  winter.  He  was,  however,  unable  to  pass  the  Mississippi  in 
that  year,  in  consequence  of  the  delay  in  the  surrender  of  the 
country,  which  was  not  terminated  until  the  latter  part  of  Decem- 
ber ;  and  it  was  not  until  the  middle  of  May,  1804,  that  he  could 
be^n  the  ascent  of  the  Missouri.  His  party  consisted  of  forty-four 
men,  who  were  embarked  in  three  boats ;  their  progress  against  the 
current  of  the  mighty  river  was  necessarily  slow,  yet,  before  the 
end  of  October,  they  arrived  in  the  country  of  the  Mandan  Indians, 
where  they  remained  until  the  following  April,  encamped  at  a  place 
near  the  48th  degree  of  latitude,  sixteen  hundred  miles  from  the 
Mississippi. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1805,  Lewis  and  Clarke  left  their  encamp- 
ment in  the  Mandan  country,  with  thirty  men,  the  others  having 
been  sent  back  to  St.  Louis ;  and,  after  a  voyage  of  three  weeks  up 
the  Missouri,  they  reached  the  junction  of  that  river  with  the  other 
principal  branch,  scarcely  inferior  in  magnitude,  called  by  the  old 
French  traders  the  Roche  jaune,  or  Yellowstone  River.  Thence 
continuing  their  progress  westward  on  the  main  stream,  their  navi- 
gation was,  on  the  13th  of  June,  arrested  by  the  Great  Folk  of  the 
Missouri,  a  series  of  cataracts  extending  about  ten  miles  in  length, 
in  the  principal  of  which  the  whole  river  rushes  over  a  precipice  of 
rock  eighty-seven  feet  in  height.  Above  the  falls,  the  party  again 
embarked  in  canoes  hollowed  out  from  the  trunks  of  the  largest 
cotton-wood  trees,  growing  near  the  river ;  and,  advancing  south- 


1605.] 


PASSAOC   or   THK   KOCKT   1IO0MTAINS. 


[ncamp- 
having 
ieks  up 
|e  other 
Ithe  old 
'hence 
Hr  navi- 
of  the 
I  length, 
|pice  of 
again 
largest 
south' 


ward,  they,  on  the  19th  of  July,  passed  through  the  Oatet  of  the 
Rocky  Mountaitu,  where  the  Missouri,  emei^ng  from  that  chain, 
runs,  for  six  miles,  in  a  narrow  channel,  between  perpendicular 
parapets  of  black  rock,  rising  twelve  hundred  feet  above  its  surface. 
Beyond  this  place,  the  river  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  several 
streams,  the  largest  of  which,  named  by  Lewis  the  Jefferson,  was 
ascended  to  its  sources,  near  the  44th  degree  of  latitude,  where  the 
navigation  of  the  Missouri  ends,  at  the  distance  of  about  three 
thousand  miles  from  its  entrance  into  the  Mississippi. 

Whilst  the  canoes  were  ascending  the  Jefferson  River,  Captains 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  with  some  of  their  men,  proceeded  through  the 
mountains,  and  soon  found  streams  flowing  towards  the  west,  one 
of  which  was  traced  in  that  direction,  by  Clarke,  for  seventy  miles ; 
they  also  met  several  parties  of  Indians  belonging  to  a  nation 
called  Shoshonee,  from  whose  accounts  they  were  convinced  that 
those  streams  were  the  head-waters  of  the  Columbia.  Having  re- 
ceived this  satisfactory  information,  the  commanders  rejoined  their 
men  at  the  head  of  the  Jefferson ;  and  preparations  were  commenced 
for  pursuing  the  journey  by  land.  For  this  purpose,  the  canoes 
and  a  portion  of  the  goods  were  concealed  in  caches,  or  covered 
pits,  and  a  number  of  horses,  with  some  guides,  being  procured 
from  the  Shoshonees,  the  whole  body  of  the  Americans,  on  the  BOth 
of  August,  entered  on  the  passage  through  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Up  to  this  period,  the  difficulties  of  the  journey  had  been  com- 
paratively light,  and  the  privations  few.  But,  during  the  three 
weeks  which  the  Americans  spent  in  passing  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
they  underwent,  as  Clarke  says,  "every  suffering  which  hunger, 
cold,  and  fatigue,  could  impose."  The  mountains  were  high,  and 
the  passes  through  them  rugged,  and,  in  many  places,  covered  with 
snow.;  and  their  food  consisted  of  berries,  dried  fish,  and  the  meat 
of  dogs  or  horses,  of  all  which  the  supplies  were  scanty  and  preca- 
rious. They  crossed  many  streams,  some  of  them  large,  which 
emptied  into  the  Columbia ;  but  their  guides  gave  them  no  encour- 
agement to  embark  on  any,  until  they  reached  one  called  the 
Kooskooskee,  in  the  latitude  of  43  degrees  34  minutes,  about  four 
hundred  miles,  by  their  route,  from  the  head  of  navigation  of  the 
Missouri.  * 

At  this  place,  they  constructed  five  canoes,  and,  leaving  their 
horses  in  charge  of  a  tribe  of  Indians  of  the  Chopunnish  nation, 
they,  on  the  7th  of  October,  began  the  descent  of  the  Kooskooskee. 
Three  days  afterwards,  they  entered  the  principal  southern  branch 


386 


DESCENT  OF  THE  COLUMBIA. 


[1805. 


of  the  Columbia,  to  which  they  gave  the  name  of  Leiois ;  and,  in  seven 
days  more,  they  reached  the  point  of  its  confluence  with  the  larger 
northern  branch,  regarded  as  the  Columbia.  They  were  then  fairly 
launched  on  the  Oreat  River  of  the  West,  and  passing  down  it, 
through  many  dangerous  rapids,  they,  on  the  31st,  arrived  at  the 
Falls  of  the  Columbia,  where  it  rushes  through  the  lofty  chain  of 
mountains  nearest  the  Pacific.  Some  of  their  canoes  descended 
these  falls  in  safety ;  the  others  and  the  goods  were  carried  around 
by  land,  and  replaced  in  the  water  at  the  foot  of  the  cataract.  At 
a  short  distance  below,  the  tides  of  the  Pacific  were  observed ;  and, 
on  the  1 5th  of  November,  the  whole  party  landed  on  Cape  Disap- 
pointment, at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  about  six  hundred  miles 
from  the  place  at  which  they  had  embarked  on  its  waters,  and  more 
than  four  thousand,  by  their  route,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri. 

The  winter,  or  rather  the  rainy  season,  having  commenced  when 
the  party  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  it  became  necessary 
for  them  to  remain  there  until  the  following  spring.  They  accord- 
ingly prepared  a  habitation  on  the  north  side  of  the  river,  eleven 
miles  in  a  straight  line  from  Cape  Disappointment,  from  which  they 
were,  however,  soon  driven  by  the  floods ;  they  then  found  a  suit- 
able spot  on  the  south  side,  a  little  higher  up,  where  they  formea 
their  dwelling,  called  by  them  Fort  Clatsop,  and  remained  until 
the  middle  of  March,  1806.  During  this  period,  the  cold  was  by 
no  means  severe,  less  so,  indeed,  than  on  the  Atlantic  shore  of  the 
continent  ten  degrees  farther  south ;  but  the  rains  were  incessant 
and  violent,  and  the  river  being  at  the  same  time  generally  too 
much  agitated  by  the  winds  and  the  waves  from  the  ocean  for  the 
Americans  to  venture  on  it  in  their  canoes,  they  were  often  unable 
to  obtain  provisions,  either  by  hunting  or  fishing.  The  Clatsop 
Indians  who  occupy  the  south  side  of  the  Columbia,  at  its  mouth, 
and  the  ChinnooTcs,  on  the  opposite  shore,  conducted  themselves 
peaceably ;  but  their  prices  for  every  thing  which  they  offered  for 
sale  were  so  high,  that  no  trade  could  be  carried  on  with  them. 
The  party  were,  in  consequence  of  the  rains,  seldom  able  to  quit 
their  encampment ;  and  the  only  excursion  of  any  length  made  by 
them  during  the  winter,  was  as  far  as  the  promontory  overhanging 
the  Pacific,  thirty  miles  south  of  the  Columbia,  which  they  called 
Clarke's  Point  of  View,  near  the  Cape  Lookout  of  Meares. 

On  the  2.3d  of  March,  1806,  the  Americans  commenced  the 
ascent  of  the  Coiumbia  in  canoes,  on  their  return  to  the  United 
States.     Proceeding  slowly  up  the  river,  they  carefully  examined 


1806.] 


RETURN  or  LEWIS  AND  CLARKE. 


887 


its  shores,  and  discovered  a  lai^  stream,  called  by  the  natives  the 
Cotvelitz,  flowing  into  it  from  the  north,  at  the  distance  of  sixty 
miles  from  the  ocean.  Thirty  miles  higher  up,  they  found  another 
and  much  larger  stream,  joining  the  Columbia  on  the  south  side, 
the  Indian  name  of  which  was  supposed  to  be  Midtonomah ;  it  is 
now,  however,  universally  known  as  the  Willamet,  and  on  its  banks 
are  situated  the  most  flourishing  settlements  as  yet  formed  by  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

In  the  middle  of  April,  the  exploring  party  i]pached  the  foot  of 
the  great  rapids,  below  the  Falls  of  the  Columbia,  where  they  aban- 
doned their  canoes,  and  began  their  journey  by  land,  on  horses 
purchased  from  the  Indians.  In  this  way,  they  traversed  the  gap  or 
defile  in  the  mountains  through  which  the  river  pours  its  floods, 
and  then,  pursuing  their  course  over  the  elevated  plains  east  of  that 
ridge,  they  arrived,  on  the  8th  of  May,  at  the  point  on  the  Koos- 
kooskee  River,  where  they  had  left  their  horses,  and  first  embarked 
on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  in  the  preceding  year.  From  this 
place,  they  continued  on  horseback  due  eastv/ard,  through  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  Clarke  River,  which  flows  for  some  dis- 
tance in  a  northerly  direction  from  its  sources,  before  turning 
soutliward  to  join  the  other  branches  of  the  Columbia ;  and  there 
it  was  agreed  that  the  chiefs  of  the  expedition  should  separate,  to 
meet  again  at  the  confluence  of  the  Yellowstone  with  the  Missouri. 

The  separation  took  place  on  the  3d  of  July,  near  the  point  at 
which  the  Clarke  River  is  crossed  by  the  47th  parallel  of  latitude, 
due  west  of  the  Falls  of  the  Missouri.  Captain  Lewis  and  his 
party  proceeded  some  distance  northward,  down  the  Clarke,  and 
then,  quitting  it,  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  head-waters  of 
Maria  River,  which  empties  into  the  Missouri  just  below  the  falls. 
There  they  met  a  band  of  Indians  belonging  to  the  numerous  and 
daring  race  called  the  Black-foot,  who  infest  the  plains  at  the  base 
of  the  mountains,  and  are  ever  at  war  with  all  other  tribes ;  these 
savages  attempted  to  seize  the  rifles  of  the  Americans,  and  Lewis 
was  obliged  to  kill  one  of  them  before  they  desisted.  The  party 
then  hastened  to  the  Missouri,  which  they  reached  at  the  falls,  and 
thence  floated  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone. 

Meanwhile,  the  others,  under  Clarke,  rode  southward  up  the 
valley  of  the  Clarke  River,  to  its  sources;  and,  after  exploring 
several  passes  in  the  mountains  between  that  point  and  the  head- 
waters of  the  Yellowstone,  they  embarked  in  canoes  on  the  latter 


IMtOnAllOB  or  TBI  DISOOTBmUI. 


[1806. 


idoam,  Mid  dncended  it  to  the  MisMHiri,  wh«re  they  jmned  Lewis 
Mid  hit  men  on  the  12th  of  August 

From  the  point  of  confluence  of  the  two  riven,  the  whole  body 
DMred  down  the  MiMonri ;  and,  on  the  23d  of  September,  1806, 
they  arrived  in  safety  at  St.  Louis,  having  travelled,  in  the  course 
of  their  expedition,  more  than  nine  thousand  miles. 

The  preceding  sketch  of  the  long  and  difficult  expedition  of 
Lewis  and  Clarke  will  serve  to  show  the  general  course  of  their 
routes  between  the Jbf ississippi  and  the  Pacific.  As  to  the  priority 
and  extent  of  their  geographical  discoveries,  a  few  words  will 
suffice.  The  Missouri  had  been  ascended,  by  the  French  and 
Spamsh  traders,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  long  before 
l^ewia  and  Clarke  embarked  on  it ;  but  ample  proofs  are  afforded, 
by  the  maps  drawn  prior  to  their  expedition,  that  no  information 
even  approximating  to  correctness  had  been  obtained  respecting  the 
river  and  the  countries  in  its  vicinity.  With  regard  to  the  territory 
between  the  great  Falls  of  the  Missouri  and  those  of  the  Columbia, 
and  the  branches  of  either  river  joining  it  above  its  falls,  we  have 
no  accounts  whatsoever  earlier  than  those  derived  from  the  journblB 
of  the  American  exploring  party.  The  Tacoutchee-Tessce,  navi* 
gated  by  Mackenzie  m  1793,  and  supposed  by  him  to  be  a  branch 
of  the  Columbia,  was  afterwards  discovered  to  be  a  different  stream, 
now  called  Fraaer's  River,  emptying  into  the  Strait  of  Fuca ;  and 
no  evidence  has  been  adduced  of  the  passage  of  any  white  person 
through  the  country  between  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific, 
north  of  California,  from  the  time  of  Mackenzie's  journey  to  that 
of  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke.'* 

Politically,  the  expedition  was  an  announcement  to  the  world  of 
the  intention  of  the  American  government  to  occupy  and  settle  the 
countries  explored,  to  which  certainly  no  other  nation  except  Spain 
could  advance  so  strong  a  claim  on  the  grounds  of  discovery  or  of 
contiguity ;  and  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States 
thus  virtually  incurred  the  obligation  to  prosecute  and  carry  into 


'  *  The  journal  of  the  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clarke  was  not  published  until  1814, 
when  it  appeared  nearly  in  the  same  state  in  which  it  came  from  the  hands  of  Lewis, 
shortly  before  the  melancholy  termination  of  his  existence.  It  affords  abundant  proofs 
of  the  powers  of  observation  possessed  by  those  who  were  engaged  in  the  enterprise ; 
and  the  mast  of  facts,  geographioally,  commercially,  and  politically  important,  which 
it  contains,  causes  it  still  to  be  regarded  as  the  principal  source  of  information  respect- 
ing the  geography,  the  natural  history,  and  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  of  ihe  portions 
of  Amerioa  traversed  by  the  Misaouri  and  the  Columbia. 


1806.] 


PIKE  I   KXPEDITION. 


889 


fulfilment  the  great  ends  for  which  the  labors  of  Lewis  and  Clarke 
were  the  first  preparatory  measures. 

During  the  absence  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  other  persons  were 
engaged,  under  the  orders  of  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
in  exploring  different  parts  of  the  interior  of  Louisiana.  Lieutenant 
Pike  ascended  the  Mississippi  to  its  head-waters,  near  the  48th 
degree  of  latitude,  where  he  obtained  much  useful  information 
respecting  the  course  of  that  stream,  and  the  numbers,  characters, 
and  dispositions,  of  the  Indians  in  its  vicinity,  as  well  as  concerning 
the  trade  and  establishments  of  the  North- West  Company  in  that 
quarter.  Having  completed  this  expedition.  Pike,  in  1806,  under- 
took another,  in  the  course  of  which  he  travelled  south-westward 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Arkan- 
sas, the  Red  River,  and  the  Rio  Bravo  del  Nort£ :  on  the  latter 
river,  he  and  his  party  were  made  prisoners  by  the  Spaniards  of 
Santa  F^,  who  carried  them  southward  as  far  as  the  city  of  Chi- 
huahua, and  thence,  through  Texas,  to  the  United  States.  The 
Red  and  Washita  Rivers  were  at  the  same  time  explored,  to  a  con- 
siderable distance  from  the  Mississippi,  by  Messrs.  Dunbar,  Hunter, 
and  Sibley,  whose  journals,  as  well  as  those  of  Pike,  subsequently 
published,  contain  many  interesting  descriptions  of  those  parts  of 
America. 

Thus,  within  three  or  four  years  after  Louisiana  came  into  the 
possession  of  the  United  States,  it  ceased  to  be  an  unknown  region, 
and  the  principal  features  of  the  territory  drained  by  the  Columbia 
were  displayed.  ' 

37 


•«"V.    •  n 


'  H 


S90 


#*«' 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


i,v  'rsi-'' 


1806  TO  1815. 


FmA  EiUUiahmento  of  the  North- Weit  Company  in  the  Countriei  north  of  the 
Colnmbia — Pacifio  Fur  Company  formed  at  New  York  —  Plan  of  ita  Founder  — 
First  Expedition  from  New  York  in  the  Tonquin  —  Foundation  of  Astoria  near  the 
Mouth  of  the  Columbia  River — Destruction  of  the  Tonquin  by  the  Savages  — 
March  of  the  Party  under  Hunt  and  Crooks  across  the  Continent — Arrival  of  the 
Beaver  in  the  Columbia  —  War  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  fatal 
to  the  Enterprise  —  Establishments  of  the  Pacific  Company  sold  to  the  North- 
West  Company  —  Astoria  taken  by  the  British  —  Dissolution  of  the  Pacific 
Company. 


The  expeditions  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  Pike,  did  not  fail  to 
attract  the  attention,  and  to  excite  the  jealousy,  of  the  British 
government  and  trading  companies.  Pike  had  restrained  the  incur- 
sions of  the  North- West  Company's  people  into  the  territories  of 
the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  had  lessened  their  influence  over  the 
Indians  inhabiting  those  regions.  From  the  moment  when  Lewis 
and  Clarke  appeared  on  the  Missouri,  their  movements  were 
watched  by  the  agents  of  the  British  Association ;  and,  so  soon 
as  it  was  ascertained  that  they  were  ordered  to  explore  the  Colum- 
bia, preparations  were  made  to  anticipate  the  Americans  in  the 
settlement  of  that  portion  of  the  continent,  for  which  the  expedition 
of  those  officers  was  evidently  intended  to  open  the  way.  A  party 
of  the  North- West  Company's  men  was  accordingly  despatched,  in 
1805,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Laroque,  to  establish  posts  and 
occupy  territories  on  the  Columbia ;  but  this  party  proceeded  no 
farther  than  the  Mandan  villages  on  the  Missouri.  In  the  following 
year,  1806,  another  party  was  despatched  from  Fort  Chipewyan, 
under  Mr.  Simon  Fraser,  who  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  near 
the  passage  of  the  Peace  River,  and  formed  a  trading  establishment 
on  a  small  lake,  now  called  FVaser's  Lake,  situated  in  the  54th 
degree  of  latitude.  TTiis  was  the  first  settlement  or  post  of  any  kind 
made  by  British  subjects  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Other  posts 
were  subsequently  formed  in  the  same  country,  which,  in  1808, 
received  from  the  traders  the  name  of  New  Caledonia ;  but  it  does 


1806.] 


riasT  BKiTiaH  fosts  in  new  Caledonia. 


-m 


not  appear,  from  any  evidence  as  yet  adduced,  that  any  part  of  tht 
waters  of  the  Columbia,  or  of  the  country  through  which  they  flow, 
was  seen  by  persons  in  the  service  of  the  North- West  Company 
until  1811.* 

In  the  mean  time,  several  establishments  had  been  formed  by 
citizens  of  the  United  States  on  the  Columbia  and  its  branches. 

Before  the  transfer  of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States,  the  trade 
of  the  Missouri  and  the  adjacent  countries  inhabited  by  the  Indians, 
had  been  granted  by  the  Spanish  government  to  Manuel  Lisa,  a 
merchant  of  St.  Louis,  who  continued  to  conduct  it  almost  exclu- 
sively until  1806.  After  tlie  return  of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  other 
individuals  engaged  in  the  business,  the  competition  between  whom 
occasioned  many  and  serious  disputes ;  until  at  length,  in  1808,  an 
association,  called  the  Miasoari  Pur  Company,  was  formed  among 


*  Many  interesting  details  resjjecting  the  proceedings  of  the  North- West  Com- 
pany, and  the  geography  of  the  parts  of  America  in  which  its  establishments  are 
situated,  may  be  found  in  the  journal  of  D.  W.  Harmon,  a  native  of  Vermont,  who 
was  a  partner  in  that  company,  and  the  superintendent  of  all  its  affairs  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains  for  several  years.  This  journal  was  published  at  Andover,  in 
Massachusetts,  in  1819,  but  is  now  nearly  out  of  print:  a  review  of  it,  containing 
many  curious  extracts,  may  be  seen  in  the  London  Quarterly  Review  for  Janu- 
ary, 1822. 

With  regard  to  the  dates  of  the  earliest  establishments  of  the  North- West 
Company  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  following  extracts  firom  Harmon's 
journal  may  be  considered  as  decisive  evidence:  — 

"  Saturday,  J^ovember  24th,  1804.  —  Some  people  have  just  arrived  from  Montagn* 
la  Basse,  with  a  letter  from  Mr.  Chaboillez,  who  informs  me  that  two  captains,  Clarke 
and  Lewis,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  soldiers,  have  arrived  at  the  Mandan  village, 
on  the  Missouri  River,  which  place  is  situated  about  three  days'  distance  firom  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Chaboillez.  'They  have  invited  Mr.  Chaboillez  to  visit  them.  It  ia 
said  that,  on  their  arrival,  they  hoisted  the  American  flag,  and  informed  the  natives 
that  their  object  was  not  to  trade,  but  merely  to  explore  the  country,  and  that,  as  soon 
as  the  navigation  shall  open,  they  design  to  continue  their  route  across  the  Rooky 
Mountains,  and  thence  descend  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

"  Wednesday,  April  \Qth,  1805.  —  While  at  Montague  la  Basse,  Mr.  Chaboillez  in- 
duced me  to  consent  to  undertake  a  long  and  arduous  tour  of  discovery.  I  am  to  leave 
that  place  about  the  beginning  of  June,  accompanied  by  six  or  seven  Canadians,  and 
two  or  three  Indians.  The  first  place  at  which  we  shall  stop  will  be  the  Mandan 
village,  on  the  Missouri  River ;  thence  we  shall  steer  our  course  towards  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  the  Mandan  Indians,  who  proceed  in  that 
direction,  every  spring,  to  meet  and  trade  with  another  tribe  of  Indians,  who  reside 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  [This  journey  I  never  undertook :  a 
Mr.  La  Roque  attempted  to  make  this  tour,  but  went  no  farther  than  the  Mandan 
village.] " 

At  page  281,  Harmon  says,  "  The  part  of  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, with  which  I  am  acquainted,  has,  ever  since  the  North- West  Company  first 
made  an  establishment  there,  which  was  in  1806,  gone  by  the  name  of  JV«to  Cal»- 
dorda,"  &c.  And  in  many  places  he  speaks  of  Mr.  Simon  Fraser  as  having  led  the 
first  company  of  traders  beyond  the  Rooky  Mouatains,  in  1806. 


99S 


riltST   TRADING    POSTS    ON   THE    OOLITiniA. 


[1810. 


the  principal  traders  in  that  part  of  America,  by  which  posts  were 
established  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  the  Missouri,  and  even  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  trading  post  founded  by  Mr.  Henry, 
one  of  the  agents  of  the  Missouri  Company,  on  a  branch  of  the  Lewis 
River,  the  great  southern  arm  of  the  Columbia,  appears  to  have  been 
the  earliest  establishment  of  any  kind  made  by  people  of  a  civilized 
nation  in  the  territory  drained  by  the  latter  stream ;  the  enmity  of 
the  savages  in  its  vicinity,  and  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  provisions, 
however,  obliged  Mr.  Henry  to  abandon  it  in  1810. 

In  that  year,  an  attempt  was  made  by  Captain  Smith,  the  com- 
mander of  the  ship  Albatross,  from  Boston,  to  found  a  post  for  tradn 
with  the  Indiatns  at  a  place  called  Ouk  Point,  on  the  south  bank  of 
the  Columbia,  about  forty  miles  from  its  mouth.  For  this  purpose  a 
house  was  built  and  a  garden  was  laid  out  and  planted  there ;  but 
the  site  was  badly  chosen  in  all  respects,  and  the  Bchen)e  was  aban- 
doned before  the  close  of  the  year. 

In  the  same  year,  1810,  an  association  was  formed  at  New  York, 
for  the  prosecution  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  central  and  north-western 
parts  of  the  continent,  in  connection  with  the  China  trade,  of  which 
a  particular  account  will  be  presented,  as  the  transactions  attend 
ing  the  enterprise  led  to  important  political  results. 

This  association  was  called  the  Pacific  Fur  Company.*  At  its 
head  was  John  Jacob  Astor,  a  German  merchant  of  New  York, 
who  had  been  for  many  years  extensively  engaged  in  the  commerce 
of  the  Pacific  and  China,  and  also  in  the  trade  with  the  Indian  coun- 
tries in  the  centre  of  the  American  continent,  and,  by  his  prudence 
and  skill,  had  thus  accumulated  an  immense  fortune,  ere  he  passed 
the  meridian  of  life.  He  devised  the  scheme ;  he  advanced  the 
capital  requisite  for  carrying  it  into  execution,  and  he  directed  all 

*  The  following  account  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  in  derived 
chiefly  from  —  Adventures  on  the  Columbia  River,  &c.,  by  Ross  Cox.  London,  1831. 
—  Relation  d'un  Voyage  k  la  Cote  Nord-Ouest,  de  I'Am^rique  Septentrionale,  dam  les 
Annees  1810-14,  par  Gabriel  Franchere.  Montreal,  1820.  [Franchoro  wont  out 
with  the  first  party  in  the  Tonquin ;  Cox  went  out  in  the  Beaver,  and  they  both 
returned  to  Canada  by  way  of  the  lakes.]  —  Astoria,  or  Anecdotes  of  an  Entcrprioe 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  Washington  Irving,  Philadelphia,  1636;  the  latter 
author  gives  the  most  complete  account  of  the  circumstances,  particularly  of  the 
adventures  of  the  parties  under  Hunt,  Crooks,  and  Stuart,  derived  from  their  state- 
ments and  the  papers  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Astor,  to  which  he  had  access.  In  addi- 
tion to  these  authorities,  several  letters  and  papers,  addressed  by  Mr.  Astor  to  the  execu- 
tive of  the  United  States,  have  been  examined,  and  some  communications  have  been 
personally  received  from  that  gentleman.  One  of  hia  letters,  containing  a  summary 
of  the  circomstahoes  connected  with  bis  enterprise,  will  be  found  among  the  Proofli 
and  Illustrations,  at  the  end  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  G 


1810.]  astor's  flans  roK  monopolixino  the  ohina  trade.      898 

the  operation!.  His  first  objects  were  to  concentrate  in  the  hands 
of  the  company  tho  fur  trade;  of  every  part  of  the  unsettled  territo- 
rios  of  America  claimed  hy  the  United  States,  and  also  tho  supply 
of  the  Russian  establishments  on  the  North  Pacific,  which  was  io  be 
conducted  agreeably  to  nrrans^cments  made  with  the  Russian  Amer- 
ican Company,  similar  to  those  proposed  by  the  government  of  St. 
Petersburg  to  the  cobinet  a  I  Washington,  as  already  mentioned  ;  and 
by  the  attainment  of  these  first  objects,  he  expected  to  bo  able  to  con- 
trol, if  not  exclusively  to  possess,  the  whole  commerce  between  the 
ports  of  China  and  those  of  America,  and  of  a  large  portion  of  Europe. 

For  these  purposes,  posts  were  to  be  established  on  tho  Missouri, 
the  Columbia,  and  the  coasts  of  the  Pacific  contiguous  'o  the  latter 
river,  at  which  places  tho  furs  were  to  bo  collected  by  trade  with 
the  Indians,  or  by  hunters  in  the  employ  of  the  company.  The 
posts  were  to  be  supplied  with  the  merchandise  re<iuired,  either  by 
way  of  the  Missouri,  or  by  ships  despatched  from  the  ports  of  the 
United  States  to  the  North  Pacific  ;  and  the  furs  collected  were  to  be 
carried  either  down  the  Missouri  to  the  Atlantic  ports  of  the  Union, 
or  westward  to  the  establishments  of  the  company  on  the  Pacific. 
The  merchandise  sent  to  the  Pacific  would  be  discharged,  in  the  first 
instance,  at  a  principal  factory,  to  be  founded  at  some  point  most 
convenient  for  distributing  the  articles  among  the  interior  posts, 
and  for  receiving  the  furs  from  those  places;  and  the  vessels 
would  then  take  in  cargoes  of  furs,  which  they  would  transport 
to  Canton.  Vessels  would  also  be  sent,  either  directly  from  the 
United  States,  or  from  the  principal  factory  on  the  Pacific,  to  the 
Russian  American  establishments,  with  provisions  and  other  articles, 
for  which  furs  were  to  be  received  in  payment ;  and  from  Canton 
these  vessels  would  bring  to  Europe  or  America  teas,  silks,  and  other 
Chinese  goods,  procured  in  exchange  for  their  furs.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  ad  \,  that  all  these  movements  were  to  be  conducted 
with  order  and  regularity,  and  at  stated  periods,  so  as  to  prevent  loss 
of  time  and  labor,  or  injury  to  the  various  articles  transported. 

The  number  of  shares  in  the  company  was  to  be  one  hundred  : 
of  these  half  were  retained  by  Mr.  Astor,  who  was  to  advance  the 
funds  necessary  for  the  first  operations,  and  to  manage  the  con- 
cerns at  New  York ;  the  remaining  shares  being  divided  among  the 
other  partners,  who  were  to  conduct  the  business  in  the  western 
territories,  on  the  Pacific,  and  at  Canton.  Tilie  association,  if 
prosperous,  was  to  continue  twenty  years,  after  which  it  might  be 
prolonged ;  but  it  might  be  abandoned  by  any  of  the  partners,  or 


294 


PACiric  FUR  coMPAinr's  operations. 


[1810. 


diBSolved,  within  the  first  five  years,  Mr.  Astor  bearing  all  the 
losses  incurred  during  that  period. 

This  was  certainly  an  extensive  and  complicated  scheme ;  but  it 
appeared,  at  the  time  when  it  was  devised,  to  be  perfectly  practicable. 
The  territories  in  which  the  new  <  stablishments  were  to  be  formed, 
had  never  been  occupied :  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  the  Russians 
would  gladly  agree  to  the  proposed  arrangements  for  the  trade  with 
their  factories ;  the  demand  for  furs  at  Canton  was  regular,  and  suf- 
ficiently great  to  insure  the  superiority,  in  that  market,  to  those  who 
could  control  the  supply ;  and  the  Americans  would  possess,  in 
China  and  on  the  Pacific,  a  decided  advantage  over  the  British, 
whose  flag  was  then  rarely  seen  in  the  Pacific,  in  consequence  of 
the  monopoly  enjoyed  by  the  East  India  Company.  Moreover,  there 
was  then  no  prospect  of  a  material  change  in  the  political  positions 
of  the  principal  nations  of  the  world. 

The  only  party  from  which  the  Pacific  Company  could  apprehend 
any  immediate  and  serious  difficulties,  was  the  North- West  Company 
of  Montreal.  The  resources  of  that  body  were  in  every  respect 
inferior  to  Mr.  Aster's ;  but,  in  order  to  prevent  rivalry,  he  communi- 
cated his  intentions  confidentially  to  its  directors,  and  offered  them 
an  interest  to  the  extent  of  one  third  in  his  enterprise :  they,  how- 
ever, rejected  his  proposal,  and  took  measures,  as  will  be  shown 
hereafter,  to  forestall  him.  Was  Mr.  Astor  —  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  — justifiable  in  thus  ofTering  to  an  association  of  British  sub- 
jects, noted  for  its  enmity  to  his  adopted  country,  a  share  of  the  ad- 
vantages to  be  obtained  under  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  from  ter- 
ritories exclusively  belonging  to  the  United  States,  or  of  which  the 
exclusive  possession  by  the  United  States  was  evidently  essential  to 
the  welfare  and  advancement  of  the  republic  ? 

Having  matured  his  scheme,  Mr.  Astor  engaged  as  partners, 
clerks,  and  voyageurs,  a  number  of  Scotchmen  and  Canadians,  who 
had  been  in  the  service  of  the  North- West  Company,  and  afterwards 
a  number  rather  greater,  of  other  persons,  principally  natives  of  the 
United  States.  The  partners  first  admitted  were  Alexander  Mackay, 
who  had  accompanied  Mackenzie  in  his  expedition  to  the  Pacific  in 
1793,  Duncan  Macdougal,  and  Donald  Mackenzie,  all  Scotchmen, 
formerly  belonging  to  the  North- West  Company:  these  persons 
signed  the  constitution  or  articles  of  agreement  of  the  Pacific  Com- 
pany, with  Mr.  A!stor,  on  the  23d  of  June,  1810;  having,  however, 
previously  communicated  the  whole  plan  of  the  enterprise  to  Mr. 
Jackson,  the  minister  plenipotentiary  of  Great  Britain  in  the  United 


1810.] 


PARTNERS    IN   THE    PACITIC    COMPANT. 


095 


States,  who  quieted  all  their  scruples  as  to  engaging  in  it,  by  assur- 
ing them  that,  "  in  case  of  a  war  between  the  two  nations,  they  would 
be  respected  as  British  subjects  and  merchants."  The  partners  sub- 
sequently admitted  were  David  and  Robert  Stuart,  and  Ramsay 
Crooks,  Scotchmen,  who  had  also  been  in  the  service  of  the  North- 
West  Company,  and  Wilson  Price  Hunt,  John  Clarke,  and  Robert 
Maclellan,  citizens  of  the  United  States.  The  majority  of  the  clerks 
were  Americans ;  among  the  others  were  Ross  Cox,  an  Englishman, 
and  Gabriel  Franchere,  a  Canadian,  each  of  whom  has  written  an 
interesting  history  of  the  enterprise.  The  voyageurs  were  nearly  all 
from  Canada.  Mr.  Hunt,  a  native  of  New  Jersey,  was  chosen  as 
chief  agent  of  the  company,  to  superintend  all  its  concerns  on  the 
western  side  of  America  for  five  years. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that,  although  the  chief  direction  of  the  con- 
cerns of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  in  New  York  and  on  the  western 
side  of  the  continent,  were  at  first  intrusted  to  American  citizens, 
yet  the  majority  not  only  of  the  inferior  servants,  but  also  of  the 
partners,  were  British  subjects,  nearly  all  of  whom  had  been  in  the 
service  of  a  rival  British  association. 

The  preparations  for  commencing  the  enterprise  having  been 
completed,  four  of  the  partners,  Messrs.  Mackay,  Macdougal,  David 
Stuart,  and  Robert  Stuart,  with  eleven  clerks,  thirteen  Canadian 
voyageurs,  and  five  mechanics,  all  British  subjects,  took  their 
departure  from  New  York  for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  in 
September,  1810,  in  the  ship  Tonquin,  commanded  by  Jonathan 
Thorne.  In  January  following,  the  second  detachment,  conducted 
by  Mr.  Hunt,  the  chief  agent,  and  Messrs.  Maclellan,  Mackenzie, 
and  Crooks,  set  out  for  the  same  point,  by  way  of  the  Missouri  River ; 
and  in  October,  1811,  the  ship  Beaver,  under  Captain  Sowles,  car- 
ried out  from  New  York,  to  the  North  Pacific,  Mr.  Clarke,  with  six 
clerks  and  a  number  of  other  persons. 

Mr.  Astor  had  already,  in  1809,  despatched  the  ship  Enterprise, 
under  Captain  Ebbets,  an  intelligent  and  experienced  seaman  and 
trader,  to  make  observations  at  various  places  on  the  north-west 
coasts  of  America,  and  particularly  at  the  Russian  settlements,  and 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  new  establishments.  He,  also,  in  1811, 
sent  an  agent  to  St.  Petersburg,  by  whose  means  he  concluded  an 
arrangement  with  the  Russian  American  Company,  to  the  effect 
that  his  association  should  have  the  exclusive  privileges,  of  supplying 
the  Russian  establishments  on  the  North  Pacific  with  merchandise, 
receiving  furs  in  payment,  and  of  transporting   to  Canton  such 


296 


THE    ASTORIA    ENTERPRISE   BEGUN. 


[1811. 


Other  furs  as  the  Russians  might  choose  to  ship  for  that  port,  on 
their  own  account,  provided  that  the  Americans  should  visit  no 
other  parts  of  the  coast  north  of  a  certain  latitude.        ;  rt<-7- 1 

The  Tonquin  passed  around  Cape  Horn,  and  in  February,  1811, 
arrived  at  Owyhee,  where  M'»cdougal,  who  was  to  superintend  the 
affairs  of  the  company  on  the  Pacific  and  its  coasts  until  the  arrival 
of  Hunt,  endeavored  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce 
with  King  Tamahamaha :  but  that  aged  chief,  whom  experience  had 
rendered  distrustful,  refused  to  bind  himself  by  any  contract  with 
the  white  men ;  and  he  would  only  promise  to  furnish  the  vessels  of 
the  company  with  provisions  on  the  same  terms  with  other  vessels 
—  namely,  on  payment  of  the  value  in  Spanish  dollars.  Having 
obtained  the  necessary  supplies  in  this  way,  and  taken  on  board  a 
dozen  of  the  islanders,  who  were  permitted  by  their  sovereign  to 
engage  in  the  service  of  the  Pacific  Company,  Captain  Thorne  sailed 
for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  he  elTected  an  entrance  on 
the  24th  of  March,  with  great  danger  and  difficulty,  after  losing 
three  of  his  men,  who  attempted  to  reach  the  shore  in  a  boat. 

The  passengers  immediately  disembarked  on  the  shore  of  Baker's 
Bay,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia,  just  within  Cape  Disappoint- 
ment, where  sheds  were  built  for  their  temporary  accommodation.  A 
few  days  afterwards,  the  partners  set  off  in  search  of  a  place  proper 
for  the  establishment  of  a  factory ;  and  they  soon  selected  for  that  ob- 
ject a  spot  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  distant  about  ten  miles  from 
the  ocean,  which  had  received  from  Broughton,  in  1792,  the  name  of 
Point  George.  To  this  place  the  Tonquin  was  removed ;  and,  her 
goods  and  materials  being  landed,  preparations  were  commenced  for 
the  erection  of  a  fort  and  other  houses,  and  for  building  a  small 
vessel,  of  which  the  frame  had  been  brought  out  from  New  York.  In 
the  course  of  two  months,  these  works  were  so  far  advanced,  that 
the  assistance  of  the  ship's  crew  was  no  longer  needed ;  and  Captain 
Thorne  accordingly  sailed  on  the  5th  of  June  for  the  northern  coasts, 
carrying  with  him  Mr.  Mackay  who  was  to  conduct  the  trade,  and 
to  make  arrangements  with  the  Russians,  Mr.  Lewis  one  of  the 
clerks,  and  an  Indian  who  spoke  English,  to  serve  as  interpreter. 

During  the  ensuing  summer,  much  progress  was  made  in  the 
buildings  for  the  factory,  which,  in  honor  of  the  head  of  the  com- 
pany, was  named  Astoria.  A  large  piece  of  ground  was  cleared 
and  laid  out  as  a  garden,  in  which  various  vegetables  were  planted  ; 
the  small  vessel  was  finished  and  launched ;  trade  was  carried  on 
with  the  neighboring  Indians,  and  also  with  others  from  the  higher 


1811.] 


DAVID   THOMPSON    VISIT      ASTORIA. 


397 


parts  of  the  river,  who  gave  skins,  fish,  and  game,  in  exchange  for 
manufactured  articles ;  and  every  thing,  in  fine,  seemed  to  promise 
success  to  the  enterprise. 

While  the  Astorians  were  thus  engaged,  they  were  unexpectedly 
visited,  on  the  15th  of  July,  by  a  party  of  the  North- West  Company's 
men,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  David  Thompson,  the  surveyor  or 
astronomer  of  that  body.  These  men  had  been  despatched  from 
Canada  in  the  preceding  year,  with  the  object  of  forestalling  the 
Americans  in  the  occupation  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  which 
they  hoped  to  effect  before  the  end  of  that  season :  but  they  were 
so  long  delayed  in  seeking  a  passage  through  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
that  they  were  obliged  to  winter  in  that  ridge,  near  the  northernmost 
sources  of  the  Columbia,  under  the  52d  parallel  of  latitude ;  whence 
they  hastened  down  the  river  in  the  spring  of  1811,  building  huts 
and  erecting  flags  at  various  places,  by  way  of  taking  potaei$ion  of 
the  country.  They  were  received  at  the  fort  not  as  rivals,  but  as 
friends ;  and  were  treated  with  the  utmost  respect  and  hospitality, 
during  their  stay,  by  their  old  companion,  the  superintendent, 
Macdougal,  who,  moreover,  furnished  them  with  provisions,  and 
even  with  good?,  for  trading  on  their  departure  up  the  river. 

Mr.  Thompson  and  his  followers  in  this  expedition  were,  from 
all  the  accounts  as  yet  made  public,  the  first  white  persons  who 
navigated  the  northern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  or  traversed  any 
part  of  the  country  drained  by  it.  The  British  commissioners,  in  the 
negotiation  with  the  American  plenipotentiary  at  London,  in  1836, 
nevertheless,  attempted  to  place  Mr.  Thompson's  expedition  on 
an  equality,  not  only  as  to  extent  of  discovery,  but  also  as  to  date, 
with  that  of  Lewis  and  Clarke ;  and  to  represent  the  establishments 
which  he  is  said  to  have  founded  on  his  way  down  the  Columbia  as 
prior  to  those  formed  by  the  Pacific  Company.  In  their  statement 
of  the  claims  of  Great  Britain  to  territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, they  say* — "The  United  States  further  pretend  that  their 
claim  to  the  country  in  question  is  strengthened  and  confirmed  by 
the  discovery  of  the  sources  of  the  Columbia,  and  by  the  exploration 
of  its  course  to  the  sea  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  in  1805-6.  In  reply 
to  this  allegation,  Great  Britain  aflirms,  and  can  distinctly  prove, 
that,  if  not  before,  at  least  in  the  satne  and  atUtiequent  years,  her 
North- West  Trading  Company  had,  by  means  of  their  agent,  Mr. 
Thompson,  already  established  their  posts  among  the  Flat-head  and 

*  See  the  British  statement,  among  the  Proofs  and  IllustratioM,  in  tha  latter  part 
of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  H. 

38 


298 


MAACH    OF    HUNT,    MACLELLAK,    AND    CROOKS. 


[1812 


Kootanie  tribes,  on  the  head-waters  or  main  branch  of  the  Columbia, 
and  were  gradually  extending  them  down  the  principal  stream  of 
that  river ;  thus  giving  to  Great  Britain  in  this  particular,  as  in  the 
discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  a  title  of  parity  at  least,  if  not 
of  priority  of  discovery,  as  opposed  to  the  United  States.  It  was 
from  these  posts  that,  having  heard  of  the  American  establishment 
forming  in  1811  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  Mr.  Thompson  hastened 
thither,  descending  the  river  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  that  estab- 
lishment." The  expression  "  if  not  before,  at  least  in  the  same  and 
following  years,"  used  here,  is  rather  indefinite.  In  order  to  show 
how  it  should  be  understood  conformably  with  truth,  it  will  be 
proper  to  repfeat — that  Lewis  and  Clarke  descended  the  Columbia 
and  reached  its  mouth  before  the  middle  of  November,  1805  — 
that  the  North- West  Company  made  their  first  establishment  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  at  some  distance  north  of  any  part  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, in  1806  —  that  American  establishments  were  formed  on 
the  Columbia  in  1809, 1810,  and  1811 — and,  finally,  that  Thompson 
did  not  arrive  among  the  Kootanie  and  Flat-head  tribes  until  the 
spring  of  1811,  after  the  foundation  of  Astoria.  \  \ 

Mr.  Thompson  and  his  people  were  accompanied,  on  their  return, 
by  a  party  from  the  factory,  under  Mr.  David  Stuart,  who  established 
a  post  at  the  confluence  of  a  stream,  called  the  Okinagan,  with  the 
north  branch  of  the  Columbia,  about  six  hundred  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  river,  and  remained  there  during  the  winter. 
The  situation  of  those  left  at  Astoria  was,  in  the  mean  time,  very  un- 
pleasant, and  their  spirits  were  depressed  by  various  circumstances. 
Their  supplies  of  provisions  were  scanty  and  uncertain,  and  nothing 
was  heard,  for  some  nionths,  of  the  party  who  were  to  come  over  land 
from  the  United  State  ;  the  Tonquin,  which  was  expected  to  return 
to  the  river  in  September,  did  not  appear,  and  rumors  were  brought 
by  the  Indians  of  the  destruction  of  a  ship,  and  the  massacre  of  her 
crew,  by  the  natives  near  the  Strait  of  Fuca.  Nothing,  however, 
occurred  at  the  factory,  worthy  of  note,  until  the  18th  of  January, 
1812,  when  a  portion  of  the  detachment  sent  across  the  continent 
arrived  there  in  the  most  wretched  condition.  k  t 

This  detachment,  consisting  of  about  sixty  men,  under  the  chief 
agent.  Hunt,  and  the  partners.  Crooks,  Mackenzie,  and  Maclellan, 
ascended  the  Missouri  River  in  boats,  from  its  mouth  to  the  country 
of  ti  e  Arickara  Indians,  distant  about  fourteen  hundred  mil^s  higher  ; 
during  which  voyage  they  were  constantly  annoyed  by  their  rivals 
of  the  Missouri  Company  ;  and,  there  quitting  the  river,  they  took  a 


1812.]     MARCH    OF    HUNT    AND    HIS    PARTY    TO   THE    COLUMBIA.       299 

westward  course  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  they  crossed  in 
September,  1811,  near  the  head  of  the  Yellowstone  River.  On 
the  western  side  of  the  ridge,  they  found  a  large  stream,  probably 
the  main  branch  of  the  Lewis,  on  which  they  embarked  in  canoes, 
with  the  expectation  of  thus  floating  down  to  the  Falls  of  the  Colum- 
bia ;  but  ere  they  had  proceeded  far  in  this  way,  they  encountered 
so  many  dangers  and  obstructions,  from  falls  and  rapids,  that  they 
were  forced  to  abandon  the  stream  and  resume  their  march.  It 
would  be  needless  here  to  attempt  to  describe  the  many  evils  from 
hunger,  thirst,  cold,  and  fatigue,  which  these  men  underwent  during 
their  wanderings  througli  that  dreary  wilderness  of  snow-clad  moun- 
tains, in  the  winter  of  1811-12 :  suffice  it  to  say,  that,  after  several 
of  their  number  had  perished  from  one  or  more  of  these  causes,  the 
others  reached  Astoria  in  separate  parties,  in  the  first  months  of 
1812,  having  spent  more  than  a  year  in  coming  from  St.  Louis. 
At  the  factory  they  found  shelter,  warmth,  and  rest ;  but  they  had 
little  food,  until  the  fish  began  to  enter  the  river,  when  they  obtained 
abundant  supplies  of  pilchards,  of  the  most  delicious  flavor. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1812,  the  ship  Beaver,*  commanded  by  Cap- 
tain Sowles,  arrived  in  the  Columbia,  from  New  York,  bringing 
the  third  detachment  of  persons  in  the  service  of  the  Pacific  Com- 
pany, under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Clarke,  and  twenty-six  natives  of 


*  Rosa  Cox,  who  arrived  at  Astoria  in  the  Beaver,  in  May,  1812,  gives  the  follow- 
ing account  of  the  establishment  as  it  then  appeared :  — 

"  The  spot  selected  for  the  fort  [Astoria]  was  a  handsome  eminence,  called  Point 
George,  which  commanded  an  extensive  view  of  the  majestic  Columbia  in  front, 
bounded  by  the  bold  and  thickly-wooded  northern  shore.  On  the  right,  about  three 
miles  distant,  a  long,  high,  and  rocky  peninsula,  covered  with  timber,  called  Tongue 
Point,  extended  a  considerable  distance  into  the  river  from  the  southern  side,  with 
which  it  was  connected  by  a  narrow  neck  of  land ;  while,  on  the  extreme  left.  Cape 
Disappointment,  with  the  bar  and  its  terrific  chain  of  breakers,  were  distinctly  visible. 
The  buildings  consisted  of  apartments  for  the  proprietors  and  clerks,  with  a  capacious 
dining-hall  for  both ;  extensive  warehouses  for  the  trading  goods  and  furs,  a  provision 
store,  a  trading  shop,  smith's  forge,  carpenter's  shop,  &c.;  the  whole  surrounded  by 
stockades,  forming  a  square,  and  reaching  about  fifteen  feet  above  the  ground.  A 
gallery  ran  around  the  stockades,  in  which  loopholes  were  pierced,  sufficiently  large 
for  musketry  ;  twr.  strong  bastions,  built  of  logs,  commanded  the  four  sides  of  the 
square  ;  each  bastion  had  two  stories,  in  which  a  number  of  chosen  men  slept  every 
night ;  a  six  pounder  was  placed  in  the  lower  story  of  each,  and  they  were  both  well 
provided  with  small  arms.  Immediately  in  front  of  the  fort  was  a  gentle  declivity, 
sloping  down  to  the  river's  side,  which  had  been  turned  into  an  excellent  kitchen 
garden  ;  and,  a  few  hundred  rods  to  the  lefl,  a  tolerable  wharf  had  been  run  out,  by 
which  bateaux  and  boats  were  enabled,  at  low  water,  to  land  their  cargoes  with- 
out sustaining  any  damage.  An  impenetrable  forest  of  gigantic  pines  rose  in  the 
rear,  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  a  thick  underwood  of  brier  and  whortleberry, 
intermingled  with  fern  and  honeysuckle." 


300 


DESTRUCTION    OF    THE    TON^UIN   BY    SAVAGES. 


[1812. 


the  Sandwich  Islands,  who  were  engaged  as  seamen  or  laborers. 
The  Beaver,  moreover,  brought  from  Owyhee  a  letter  which  had 
been  left  there  by  Captain  Ebbets,  of  the  ship  Enterprise,  contain- 
ing positive  information  of  the  destruction  of  the  Tonquin  and  her 
crew  by  the  savages  on  the  coast  near  the  Strait  of  Fuca ;  the 
particulars  of  this  melancholy  affair  were  not,  however,  learned 
until  August  of  the  following  year,  when  they  were  communicated 
at  Astoria  by  the  Indian  who  had  gone  in  the  Tonquin  as  inter- 
preter, and  was  the  only  survivor  of  those  on  board  the  ill-fated  ship. 

According  to  this  interpreter's  account,  the  Tonquin,  after  quit- 
ting the  river,  sailed  northward  along  the  coast  of  the  continent, 
and  anchored,  in  the  middle  of  June,  1811,  opposite  a  village  on 
the  Bay  of  Clyoquot,  near  the  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Fuca.  She 
was  there  immediately  surrounded  by  crowds  of  Indians  in  canoes, 
who  continued  for  some  days  to  trade  in  the  most  peaceable  manner, 
so  as  to  disarm  Captain  Thorne  and  Mr.  M'^Kay  of  all  suspicions. 
At  length,  either  in  consequence  of  an  affront  given  to  a  chief  by 
the  captain,  or  with  the  view  of  plundering  the  vessel,  the  natives 
embraced  an  opportunity  when  the  men  were  dispersed  on  or  below 
ihe  decks,  in  the  performance  of  their  duties,  and  in  a  moment  put 
to  death  every  one  of  the  crew  and  passengers,  except  the  inter- 
preter, who  leaped  into  a  canoe,  and  was  saved  by  some  women,  and 
the  clerk,  Mr.  Lewis,  who  retreated,  with  a  few  sailors,  to  the  cabin. 
The  survivors  of  the  crew,  by  the  employment  of  their  fire-arms, 
succeeded  in  driving  the  savages  from  the  ship ;  and,  in  the  night, 
four  of  them  quitted  her  in  a  boat,  leaving  on  board  Mr.  Lewis  and 
some  others,  who  were  severely  wounded.  On  the  following  day, 
the  natives  again  crowded  around  and  on  board  the  Tonquin ;  and 
while  they  were  engaged  in  rifling  her,  she  was  blown  up,  most 
probably  by  the  wounded  men  left  below  deck.  The  seamen  who 
had  endeavored  to  escape  in  the  boat  were  soon  retaken,  and  put 
to  death  in  the  most  .cruel  manner,  by  the  Indians ;  the  interpreter 
was  preserved,  and  remained  in  slavery  two  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  was  suffered  to  depart. 

The  loss  of  this  ship  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  Pacific  Company ; 
but  the  partners  at  Astoria  were  consoled  by  the  reflections,  that 
their  chief  could  bear  pecuniary  damages  to  a  far  greater  extent 
without  injury  to  his  credit,  and  that,  if  their  enterprise  should  prove 
successful,  ample  indemnification  would  soon  be  obtained.  It  was 
therefore  determined  that  Mr.  Hunt  should  embark  in  the  Beaver, 
to  superintend  the  trade  along  the  northern  coasts,  and  visit  the 


1813.]    WAR   BETWEEN   THE    UNITED    STATES    AND    Q.  BRITAIN.       301 


ipany; 
that 
extent 
prove 
It  was 
leaver, 
sit  the 


Russian  establishments,  as  Mr.  Mackay  would  have  done,  but  for 
the  destruction  of  the  Tonquin  ;  and  he  accordingly  took  his  de- 
parture in  that  ship  in  August,  1812,  leaving  the  superintendence 
of  the  affairs  at  the  factory,  as  before,  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Mac- 
dougal.  A  party  was  at  the  same  time  despatched  to  the  upper 
country,  by  which  another  trading  post  was  established  on  the 
Spokan,  a  stream  joining  the  northern  branch  of  the  Columbia, 
about  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  ocean ;  and  accounts  of 
all  the  transactions,  to  that  period,  were  transmitted  to  the  United 
States,  under  the  care  of  Messrs.  Crooks,  Maclellan,  and  Robert 
Stuart,  who  recrossed  the  continent,  and  reached  New  York  in  the 
spring  of  1813,  after  encountering  difficulties  and  dangers  greater, 
in  many  respects,  than  those  undergone  in  their  journey  to  the 
Pacific. 

The  trade  with  the  Indians  of  the  Lower  Missouri  was,  in  the 
mean  time,  going  on  prosperously ;  provisions  were  abundant  at 
Astoria,  and  a  large  quantity  of  furs  was  collected  there,  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  arrival  of  the  Beaver,  which  was  to  take  them  to  Canton 
in  the  ensuing  spring.  The  hopes  of  the  partners  were  thus  revived, 
and  they  had  daily  additional  grounds  for  anticipating  success  in  their 
undertaking,  w^^en,  in  January,  1813,  they  learned  that  the  United 
States  had  de-  .ared  war  against  Great  Britain  in  June  previous. 
This  .lews  spread  an  instantaneous  gloom  over  the  minds  of  all, 
which  was  increased  by  information  received  from  a  trading  vessel, 
that  the  Beaver  was  lying  at  Canton,  blockaded  by  a  British  ship  of 
war :  and  soon  afterwards,  Messrs.  Mactavish  and  Laroque,  partners 
in  the  North- West  Company,  arrived  near  Astoria,  with  sixteen  men,» 
bringing  accounts  of  the  success  of  the  British  arms  on  the  northern 
frontiers  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  blockade  of  all  the 
Atlantic  coasts  of  the  latter  country  by  British  squadrons. 

Notwithstanding  these  circumstances,  Laroque  and  Mactavish 
were  recRived  and  treated  by  Macdougal  and  Mackenzie,  the  only 
partners  of  the  Pacific  Company  then  at  Astoria,  with  the  same 
attention  and  hospitality  which  had  been  shown  to  Thompson  in 
the  preceding  year ;  and  were  supplied  with  provisions  and  goods 
for  trading,  as  if  they  had  been  friends  and  allies,  instead  of  com- 
mercial rivals  and  political  enemies.  A  series  of  private  conferences 
were  then  held  between  the  chief  persons  of  the  two  parties,  at  the 
conclusion  of  which,  Macdougal  and  Mackenzie  announced  their 
determination  that  the  company  should  be  dissolved  on  the  1st  of 
July,  and  sent  messengers  to  communicate  the  fact  to  the  other 


809 


hunt's    negotiations    UnTH   BABANOr.        %>vi    [1818. 


partners,  Stuart  and  Clarke,  at  the  Okinagan  and  Spokan  posts. 
The  latter  gentleman,  on  receiving  this  news,  hastened  to  the 
factory,  and  there  strongly  opposed  the  determination  to  abandon 
the  enterprise  ;  and  it  was  at  length  agreed  among  them,  that  the 
establishments  should  be  maintained  a  few  months  longer,  at  the 
^nd  of  which  time,  the  company  should  be  dissolved,  unless  assist- 
ance were  received  from  the  United  States.  Three  of  the  clerks, 
including  Ross  Cox,  however,  immediately  quitted  the  concern, 
and,  entering  the  service  of  the  North- West  Company,  took  their 
departure  for  the  upper  country  with  Laroque  and  Mactavish, 
in  July. 

From  the  United  States  no  assistance  came.  The  ship  Lark  was 
despatched  from  New  York,  in  March,  1813,  with  men  and  goods 
for  the  Columbia ;  but  she  was  wrecked  in  October  following,  near 
one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  on  which  the  captain,  Northrup,  and 
crew  succeeded  in  effecting  a  landing.  The  American  government 
also  determined,  in  consequence  of  the  representations  of  Mr.  Astor, 
to  send  the  frigate  Adams  to  the  North  Pacific,  for  the  protection 
of  the  infant  establishment ;  but,  just  as  that  ship  was  about  to  sail 
from  New  York,  it  became  necessary  to  transfer  her  crew  to  Lake 
Ontario,  and  the  blockade  of  the  coasts  of  the  United  States  by  the 
British  rendered  all  further  efforts  to  convey  succors  to  Astoria 
unavailing. 

In  the  mean  time,  Mr.  Hunt,  the  chief  agent,  who  had  sailed 
from  the  Columbia  in  the  Beaver,  in  August,  1812,  as  already  men- 
tioned, visited  the  principal  Russian  establishments  on  the  north- 
«west  coasts  of  America,  and  the  adjacent  islands,  and  collected  a 
large  quantity  of  furs,  besides  concluding  arrangements  highly 
advantageous  to  the  Pacific  Company,  with  Governor  Baranof,'"'  at 
Sitka.  It  was  then  agreed  between  Mr.  Hunt  and  Captain  Sowles, 
that  the  Beaver  should  proceed,  by  way  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  to 
Canton,  instead  of  returning  to  the  Columbia,  as  had  been  previous- 
ly determined ;  and  this  was  done,  though  Hunt  went  no  farther  in 
her  than  to  Woahoo,  one  of  the  Sandwich  group,  where  he  remained 
several  months,  waiting  for  some  vessel  to  carry  him  to  Astoria. 
At  length,  in  June,  1813,  the  ship  Albatross,  of  Boston,  arrived  at 


*  An  amasing  account  of  the  negotiations  between  Hunt  and  Baranof  is  given  in 
Mr.  Irving's  Astoria.  The  chief  agent  of  the  Pacific  Company  appears  to  have  been 
in  as  much  danger  from  the  "  potations  pottle  deep"  of  raw  rum  and  burning  punch, 
which  accompanied  each  of  his  interviews  with  the  governor  of  Russian  America,  as 
flrom  hunger,  thirst,  savages,  or  storms,  during  his  whole  expedition. 


818. 


1813.] 


ASTORIA    SOLD   TO   THE    NORTH-WEST   COMPANT. 


303 


poets. 
)  the 
indon 
Eit  the 
It  the 
assist- 
jlerks, 
ncern, 
I  their 
tavish, 

xk  was 
i  goods 
g,  near 
ip,  and 
rnment 
.  Astor, 
jtection 
t  to  sail 
to  Lake 
s  by  the 
Astoria 

sailed 
ly  men- 
north- 
[lected  a 
highly 
[nof,*  at 
Sowles, 
[ands,  to 
(revious- 
irther  in 
lemained 
Astoria, 
rrived  at 


M  given  in 
I  have  been 
log  punch, 
Imerica,  as 


Woahoo,  from  China,  bringing  information  of  the  war  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  and  also  that  the  Beaver  was 
blockaded  by  a  British  ship  at  Canton ;  on  learning  which,  Mr. 
Hunt  chartered  the  Albatross,  and  proceeded  in  her  to  the  Colum- 
bia, where  he  arrived  on  the  4th  of  August. 

Mr.  Hunt  was  astounded  on  learning  the  resolution  adopted  by 
the  other  partners  at  Astoria  during  his  absence,  which  he  endeav- 
ored to  induce  them  to  change  ;  but,  finding  them  determined,  he 
reluctantly  acceded  to  it  himself,  and,  after  a  few  days,  he  re- 
embarked  in  the  Albatross,  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  search  of 
some  vessel  to  convey  the  property  of  the  Pacific  Company  to  a 
place  of  safety.  At  the  Sandwich  Islands  no  vessel  could  be  found ; 
and  Hunt  accordingly  continued  in  the  Albatross  until  she  arrived 
at  Nooahevah,  (one  of  the  Washington  Islands,  discovered  by 
Ingraham,  in  1791,)  where  he  learned  from  Commodore  David 
Porter,  who  was  lying  there  in  the  American  frigate  Essex,  that  a 
large  British  squadron,  under  Commodore  Hillyar,  was  on  its  way 
to  the  Columbia.  This  news  caused  Hunt  to  hasten  back  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  which  he  reached  in  December,  soon  after  the 
wreck  of  the  Lark ;  and,  having  there  chartered  a  small  brig,  called 
the  Pedler,  he  sailed  in  her  to  Astoria,  where  he  arrived  in 
February,  1814. 

The  fate  of  the  Pacific  Company,  and  its  establishments  in  North- 
West  America,  had,  however,  been  decided  some  time  before  the 
Pedler  reached  Astoria. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  Hunt,  Mr.  Mactavish  and  his  followers 
of  the  North- West  Company  again  appeared  at  Astoria,  where  they 
expected  to  meet  a  ship  called  the  Isaac  Todd,  which  had  sailed 
from  London  in  March,  laden  with  goods,  and  under  convoy  of  a 
British  squadron,  charged  "  to  take  and  destroy  every  thing  Amer- 
ican on  the  north-west  coast"  They  were  received  as  before, 
and  allowed  to  pitch  their  camp  unmolested  near  the  factory ;  and 
private  conferences  were  held  between  Mactavish  and  Macdougal, 
the  results  of  which  were,  after  some  days,  communicated  to  the 
other  partners,  and  then  to  the  clerks  of  the  Pacific  Company. 
These  results  were  set  forth  in  an  agreement,  signed  on  the 
16th  of  October,  1813,  between  Messrs.  Mactavish  and  Alexander 
Stuart,  on  the  one  part,  and  Messrs.  Macdougal,  Mackenzie,  and 
Clarke,  on  the  other ;  by  which  all  the  "  establishments,  furs,  and 
stock  in  hand,"  of  the  Pacific  Company,  in  the  country  of  the 


304 


ASTORIA   TAKEN   BT  THE    BRITISH. 


[1813. 


f 


Columbia,  were  sold  to  the  North- West  Company,  for  about  fifty- 
eight  thousand  dollars. 

Whilst  the  business  of  valuing  the  furs  and  goods  at  Astoria,  and 
of  transferring  them  to  their  new  owners,  was  in  progress,  the  British 
sloop  of  war  Raccoon  appeared  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Black,  who  had  been  despatched  from  the 
South  Pacific,  by  Commodore  Hillyar,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the 
American  forts  and  establishments  on  the  Columbia,  and  had  hast- 
ened thither  in  expectation  of  securing  some  glory,  and  a  rich  share 
of  prize-money,  by  the  conquest.  On  approaching  the  factory, 
however,  the  captain  soon  saw  that  he  should  gain  no  laurels ;  and, 
after  it  had  been  formally  surrendered  to  him  by  Mr.  Macdougal, 
he  learnt,  to  his  infinite  dissatisfaction,  that  its  contents  had  become 
the  property  of  British  subjects.  He  could,  therefore,  only  haul 
down  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  and  hoist  that  of  Great  Britain 
in  'I  stead,  over  the  establishment,'**'  the  name  of  which  was,  with 
due  solemnity,  changed  to  Fort  George ;  and,  having  given  vent  to 
his  indignation  against  the  partners  of  both  companies,  whom  he 
loudly  accused  of  collusion  to  defraud  himself  and  his  officers  and 
crew  of  the  reward  due  for  their  exertions,  he  sailed  back  to  the 
South  Pacific. 

The  brig  Pedler  arrived  in  the  Columbia,  an  before  said,  on  the 
38th  of  February,  1814,  and  Mr.  Hunt  found  Macdougal  super- 
intending the  factory,  not,  however,  as  chief  agent  of  the  Pacific 
Company,  but  as  a  partner  of  the  North- West  Company,  into 
which  he  had  been  admitted.  Hunt  had,  therefore,  merely  to 
close  the  concerns  of  the  American  association  in  that  quarter,  and 
to  receive  the  bills  on  Montreal,  given  in  payment  for  its  effects ; 
after  which  he  reembarked  in  the  Pedler,  with  two  of  the  clerks, 
and  proceeded,  by  viray  of  Canton  and  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to 
New  York.  Of  the  other  persons  who  had  been  attached  to  the 
Pacific  Fur  Company's  establishments,  some  were  murdered  by  the 
Indians  on  Lewis  River,  in  the  summer  of  1813;  some,  including 
Mr.  Franchere,  the  author  of  the  narrative  of  the  expeditions,  re- 
turned over  land  to  the  United  States,  or  to  Canada ;  and  some 
remained  on  the  Columbia,  in  the  service  of  the  North- West  Com- 
pany. The  long-expected  ship  Isaac  Todd  reached  Fort  George 
on  the  17th  of  April,  thirteen  months  after  her  departure  from  Eng- 


*  See  the  account  of  the  capture  of  Astoria,  extracted  from  Cox,  in  the  Proofs 
and  Illustrations,  under  the  letter  O,  No.  3. 


iHL  * 


1814.] 


TERMINATION   Or   THB    ASTORIA   ENTERPRISE. 


305 


on  the 
super- 
Pacific 
ly,  into 
erely  to 
ter,  and 
effects ; 
J  clerks, 
ope,  to 
to  the 
by  the 
eluding 
pns,  re- 
d  some 
t  Coni- 
George 
m  Eng- 

lie  Proofs 


land,  bringing  a  large  stock  of  supplies  ;  by  the  aid  of  which  the 
partners  of  the  North- West  Company  were  enabled  to  extend  their 
operations,  and  to  establish  themselves  more  firmly  in  the  country. 

Such  was  the  termination  of  the  Astoria  enterprise ;  for  no 
attempt  has  been  since  made  by  any  of  the  persons  who  were  en- 
gaged in  it  to  form  establishments  on  the  western  side  of  America. 
It  was  wisely  planned :  the  resources  for  conducting  it  were  ample ; 
and  its  failure  was  occasioned  by  circumstances,  the  principal  of 
which  could  not  have  been  reasonably  anticipated  at  the  time  of  its 
commencement.  That  ships  might  be  lost  at  sea,  or  that  parties  might 
be  destroyed  by  savages,  or  perish  from  cold  or  hunger, — casualties 
such  as  these  were  expected,  and  provisions  were  made  for  the  con- 
tingencies. But,  in  1810,  when  the  Beaver  sailed  from  New  York, 
no  one  believed  that,  before  the  end  of  two  years,  the  United  States 
would  be  at  war  with  the  greatest  maritime  power  in  the  world. 
By  that  war  the  whole  plan  was  traversed.  Communications  by 
sea  between  the  United  States  and  the  Pacific  coasts  became  diffi- 
cult and  uncertain,  whilst  those  by  land  were  of  little  advantage, 
and  were  always  liable  to  interruption  by  the  enemy  ;  and  there 
was,  in  fact,  no  object  in  collecting  furs  on  the  Columbia,  when 
those  articles  could  not  be  transported  to  China. 

The  Pacific  Company,  nevertheless,  might,  and  probably  would, 
have  withstood  all  these  difiiculties,  if  the  directing  partners  on  thfs 
Columbia  had  been  Americans,  instead  of  being,  as  the  greater  part 
of  them  were,  men  unconnected  with  the  United  States  by  birth,  or 
citizenship,  or  previous  residence,  or  family  ties.  Mr.  Astor  de- 
clares that  he  would  have  preferred  the  loss  of  the  establishments 
and  property  by  a  fair  capture,  to  the  sale  of  them  in  a  manner 
which  he  considered  disgraceful;  yet,  although  the  conduct  of 
Macdougal  and  Mackenzie,  in  that  sale,  and  subsequently,  was 
such  as  to  authorize  suspicions  with  regard  to  their  motives,  they 
could  not  have  been  expected  to  engage  in  hostilities  against  their 
compatriots  and  former  friends.  Being  thus  restrained  from  defend- 
ing the  honor  of  the  Pacific  Company  by  force,  they  may  have  con- 
sidered themselves  bound  to  take  care  of  its  interests,  by  the  only 
means  in  their  power,  as  they  did  in  the  sale.  American  citizens 
would  have  resisted  the  North- West  Company,  and  would  doubt- 
less have  maintained  their  supremacy,  in  the  country  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, for  some  time,  possibly  until  peace  had  been  made  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
39 


«?• 


.m. 


306 


.-.-t''*'-:'^.^*    .f 


it* 


■'  :*  1 :  \ 


CHAPTER   XV. 


1814  TO  1820. 


m- 


Reititution  of  Aitoria  to  the  United  Statci  by  Great  Britain,  agreeably  to  the  Troaty 
of  Ghent —  Alleged  Rciervation  of  Righta  on  the  Part  of  Great  Dritnin  —  Fimt 
Negotiation  between  the  GoTernmenta  of  Great  Britain  and  the  Unitnd  Htatea, 
r^apccting  the  Territories  weat  of  the  Rocky  Mountain*,  and  Convcntiun  for  the 
joint  Occupancy  of  thoio  Tcrritoriea  —  Florida  Treaty  between  Spain  nnii  tho 
United  States,  by  which  the  Latter  acquires  the  Title  of  Spain  to  the  Nortii- 
West  Coosta  —  Colonel  Long'a  exploring  Expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mounlatni  — 
Disputes  between  the  British  North- West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies —  Union 
of  those  Bodies  —  Act  of  Parliament  extending  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Canada 
Courts  to  the  Pacific  Countries  —  Russian  Establishments  on  the  North  Pacific  — 
Expeditions  in  Search  of  Northern  Passages  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Paciflo 
—  Death  of  Tamahamaha,  and  Introduction  of  Christianity  into  the  Sandwich 
Islands.  .  . 

The  capture  of  Astoria  by  the  British,  and  the  transfer  of  the 
Pacific  Company's  establishments  on  the  Columbia  to  the  North- 
West  Company,  were  not  known  to  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the 
United  States  at  Ghent,  on  the  24th  of  December,  1814,  when 
they  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  between  their  country  and  Great 
Britain.  That  treaty  contains  no  allusion  whatsoever  to  the  north- 
west coasts  of  America,  or  to  any  portion  of  the  continent  west  of 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  The  plenipotentiaries  of  the  United 
States  had  been  instructed  by  their  government  to  consent  to  no 
claim  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain  to  territory  in  that  quarter  south 
of  the  49th  paraVel  of  latitude,  for  reasons  which  have  been  already 
stated  ;  and,  after  some  discussion,  they  proposed  to  the  British  nn 
article  similar  in  effect  to  the  fifth  article  of  the  convention  signed, 
but  not  definitively  concluded,  in  1807,  according  to  which,*  a 
line  drawn  along  that  parallel  should  separate  the  territories  of  the 
powers  so  far  as  they  extended  west  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods, 
provided,  however,  that  nothing  in  the  article  should  be  construed 
as  applying  to  any  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The 
British  plenipotentiaries  were  willing  to  accept  this  article,  if  it  were 
also  accompanied  by  a  provision  that  their  subjects  should  have 
access  to  the  Mississippi  River,  through  the  territories  of  the  United 


For  the  reasons  and  the  convention  here  mentioned,  see  chap.  xiii. 


#4 


1816.] 


THE    UNITED    STATES   CLAIM    ASTORIA. 


807 


r  of  tho 
North- 
I  of  tho 
i,  when 
Great 
north- 
west of 
United 
{  to  no 
cr  south 
already 
itish  an 
fiip^ncd, 
lich,*  tt 
of  tho 
Woods, 
nstrucd 
I.     The 
it  were 
d  have 
United 


States,  and  tho  right  of  navigating  it  to  the  sea ;  but  the  American! 
refused  positively  to  agree  to  such  a  stipulation,  and  the  question 
of  boundaries  west  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  was  left  unsettled  by 
the  treaty. 

It  was  nevertheless  agreed,  in  tlie  first  article  of  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  that  "  all  territory,  placet,  and  postessiona,  whatsoever,  taken 
by  either  party  from  the  other  during  the  war,  or  which  may  be  taken 
after  the  signing  of  this  treaty,  excepting  only  the  islands  hereinafter 
mentioned,  [in  tho  Bay  of  Fundy,]  shall  be  restored  without  delay ; " 
and,  in  virtue  of  this  article,  Mr.  Monroe,  tho  secretary  of  state  of 
the  United  States,  on  tho  18th  of  July,  1815,  announced  to  Mr. 
Baker,  the  charg6  d'affaires  of  Great  Britain  at  Washington,  that 
the  president  intended  immediately  to  reoccupy  the  post  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia.  This  determination  seems  to  have  been 
taken  partly  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Astor,  who  was  anxious,  if  pos- 
sible, to  recommence  operations  on  his  former  plan  in  North- West 
America;  but  no  measures  were  adopted  for  the  purpose  until 
September,  1817,  when  Captain  J.  Biddle,  commanding  the  sloop 
of  war  Ontario,  and  Mr.  J.  B.  Prevost,  were  jointly  commissioned 
to  proceed  in  that  ship  to  the  mouth  of  the  Colin  hia,  and  there 
*'  to  assert  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
adjacent  country,  in  a  friendly  and  peaceable  manner,  and  without 
the  employment  of  force."  * 

A  few  days  after  the  departure  of  Messrs.  Biddle  and  Prevost  for 
the  Pacific,  on  this  mission,  Mr.  Bagot,  the  British  plenipotentiary 
at  Washington,  addressed  to  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams,  the  American 
secretary  of  state,  seme  inquiries  respecting  the  destination  of  the 
Ontario,  and  the  objects  of  her  voyage ;  and,  having  been  informed 
on  those  points,  he  remonstrated  against  the  intended  occupation 
of  the  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  on  the  grounds  "  that 
the  place  had  not  been  captured  during  the  late  war,  but  that  the 
Americans  had  retired  from  it,  under  an  agreement  with  the  North- 
West  Company,  which  had  purchased  their  effects,  and  had  ever 
since  retained  peaceable  possession  of  the  coast ; "  and  that  "  the 
territory  itself  was  early  taken  possession  of  in  his  majesty's  name, 
and  had  been  since  considered  as  forming  part  of  his  majesty's 
dominions ; "  under  which  circumstances,  no  claim  for  the  restitution 
of  the  post  could  be  founded  on  the  first  article  of  the  treaty  of 
Ghent.     At  what  precise  time  this  possession  was  tfiken,  or  on 

*  See  President  Monroe's  message  to  Congress  of  April  15th,  1822,  and  the  accom- 
panying documents. 


308 


O.    BRITAIN   DENIES   THE    CLAIM   OF   THE   U.    STATES.     [1818. 


what  grounds  the  territory  was  considered  as  part  of  the  British 
dominions,  the  minister  did  not  attempt  to  show. 

Mr.  Bagot  at  the  same  time  communicated  the  circumstances  to 
his  government,  and  they  became  the  subjects  of  discussion  between 
Lord  Castlereagh,  the  British  secretary  for  foreign  affairs,  and  Mr. 
Rush,  the  American  plenipotentiary  at  London.  Lord  Castlereagh 
proposed  that  the  question  respecting  the  claim  to  the  post  on  the 
Columbia  should  be  referred  to  commissioners,  as  many  other  dis- 
puted points  had  been,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  of  Ghent ;  to  which 
Mr.  Rush  objected,  for  the  simple  reasons  —  that  the  spot  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  Americans  before  the  war;  that  it  fell,  by  bel- 
ligerent capture,  into  the  hands  of  the  British  during  the  war ;  and 
that,  "  under  a  treaty  which  stipulated  the  mutual  restitution  of  all 
places  reduced  by  the  arms  of  either  party,  the  right  of  the  United 
States  to  immediate  and  full  repossession  could  not  be  impugned." 
The  British  secretary,  upon  this,  admitted  the  right  of  the  Ameri- 
cans to  be  reinstated,  and  to  be  the  party  in  possession,  while 
treating  on  the  title ;  though  he  regretted  that  the  government  of 
the  United  States  should  have  employed  means  to  obtain  restitution 
which  might  lead  to  difficulties.  Mr.  Rush  had  no  apprehensions 
of  that  kind ;  and  it  was  finally  agreed  that  the  post  should  be 
restored  to  the  Americans,  and  that  the  question  of  the  title  to  the 
territory  should  be  discussed  in  the  negotiation  as  to  limits  and 
other  matters,  which  was  soon  to  be  commenced.  Lord  Bathurst, 
the  British  secretary  for  the  colonies,  accordingly  sent  to  the  agents 
of  the  North-West  Company  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  a 
despatch,  directing  them  to  afford  due  facilities  for  the  rcoccupation 
of  the  post  at  that  point  by  the  Americans ;  and  an  order  to  the 
same  effect  was  also  sent  from  the  Admiralty  to  the  commander  of 
the  British  naval  forces  in  the  Pacific. 

The  Ontario  passed  around  Cape  Horn  into  the  Pacific,  and 
arrived,  in  February,  1818,  at  Valparaiso,  where  it  was  agreed 
between  the  commissioners  that  Captain  Biddle  should  proceed  to 
the  Columbia,  and  receive  possession  of  Astoria  for  the  United 
States,  Mr.  Prevost  remaining  in  Chili  for  the  purpose  of  transact- 
ing some  business  with  the  government  of  that  country,  which  had 
also  been  intrusted  to  him.  Captain  Biddle  accordingly  sailed  to 
the  Columbia,  and,  on  the  9th  of  August,  he  took  temporary  pos- 
session of  the  country  on  that  river,  in  the  name  of  the  United 
States,  after  which  he  returned  to  the  South  Pacific. 

In  the  mean  time,  Commodore  Bov/les,  the  commander  of  the 


1818.] 


ASTOBIA  BESTOBED  TO  THE   UNITED    STATES. 


309 


British  naval  forces  in  the  South  Sea,  received  at  Rio  de  Janeiro 
the  order  from  the  Admiralty  for  the  surrender  of  the  post  on  the 
Columbia  to  the  Americans.  This  order  he  transmitted  to  Captain 
Sheriff,  the  senior  officer  of  the  ships  in  the  Pacific,  who,  meeting 
Mr.  Prevost  at  Valparaiso,  informed  him  of  the  contents  of  the 
order,  and  offered  him  a  passage  to  the  Columbia,  for  the  purpose 
of  completing  the  business,  as  it  certainly  could  not  have  been  done 
by  Captain  Biddle.  This  offer  was  accepted  by  the  American 
commissioner,  who  proceeded,  in  the  British  frigate  Blossom,  to  the 
Columbia,  and  entered  that  river  in  the  beginning  of  October ;  and 
Mr.  Keith||the  superintending  partner  of  the  North- West  Company 
at  Fort  George,  or  Astoria,  having  also  received  the  order,  from  the 
colonial  department  at  London,  for  the  surrender  of  the  place,  the 
affair  was  soon  despatched.'*''  On  the  6th  of  the  month,  Captain 
Hickey  and  Mr.  Keith,  as  joint  commissioners  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  presented  to  Mr.  Prevost  a  paper  declaring  that,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  commands  of  the  prince  regent,  as  signified  in  Lord 
Bathurst's  despatch  of  the  27th  of  January  previous,  and  in  con- 
formity to  the  first  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  they  restored  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  through  its  agent,  Mr.  Prevost, 
the  settlement  of  Fort  George,  on  the  Columbia  River ;  and  Mr. 
Prevost,  in  return,  gave  another  paper,  setting  forth  the  fact  of  his 
acceptance  of  the  settlement  for  his  government,  agreeably  to  the 


try  pos- 
United 

of  the 


*  President  Monroe's  message  to  Congress  of  April  17th,  1S23,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Prevost's  letter,  dated  Monterey,  November  11th,  1818.  The  two  papers  above 
mentioned  are  of  so  much  importance,  that  they  are  here  given  at  length. 

The  act  of  delivery  presented  by  the  British  commissioners  is  as  follows :  — 

"  In  obedience  to  the  commands  of  his  Royal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent,  signi- 
fied in  a  despatch  from  the  right  honorable  the  Earl  Bathurst,  addressed  to  the  part- 
ners or  agents  of  the  North-West  Company,  bearing  date  the  27th  of  January,  1818, 
and  in  obedience  to  &  subsequent  order,  dated  the  26th  of  July,  from  W.  H.  Sheriff, 
Esq.,  captain  of  his  Majesty's  ship  Andromache,  we,  the  undersigned,  do,  in  conform- 
ity to  the  first  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  restore  to  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  through  its  agent,  J.  B.  Prevost,  Esq.,  the  settlement  of  Fort  George, 
on  the  Columbia  River.  Given  under  our  hands,  in  triplicate,  at  Fort  George, 
(Columbia  River,)  this  6th  day  of  October,  1818. 

.  .  '  ^^F.HicK-Ev,  Captain  of  his  Majesty's  skip  Blossom. 

"J.  Keith,  of  the  J^orth-West  Company." 

The  act  ofacceptance^  on  the  part  of  the  American  commissioner,  is  in  these  words :  — 

"  I  do  hereby  acknowledge  to  have  this  day  received,  in  behalf  of  the  Government 
of  the  United  States,  the  possession  of  the  settlement  designated  above,  in  conformity 
to  the  first  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent.  Given  under  my  hand,  in  triplicate,  at 
Fort  George,  (Columbia  River,)  this  6th  of  October,  1818. 

"J.  B.  Prevost,  .agent for  the  United  States." 


310 


PRETENDED   RESERVATION   OF   THE   BRITISH. 


[isid. 


above-mentioned  treaty.  The  British  flag  was  then  formally  low- 
ered, and  that  of  the  United  States,  having  been  hoisted  in  its  stead 
over  the  fort,  was  saluted  by  the  Blossom. 

The  documents  above  cited  —  the  only  ones  which  passed 
between  the  commissioners  on  this  occasion — are  sufficient  to 
show  that  no  reservation  or  exception  was  made  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  and  that  the  restoration  of  Astoria  to  the  United  States 
was  complete  and  unconditional.  Nevertheless,  in  a  negotiation 
between  the  governments  of  those  nations,  in  1826,  relative  to  the 
territories  of  the  Columbia,  it  was  maintained  by  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries of  Great  Britain,*  that  the  restoration  of  Astoria«could  not 
have  been  legally  required  by  the  United  States,  in  virtue  of  the 
treaty  of  Ghent,  because  the  place  was  not  a  national  possession, 
nor  a  military  post,  and  was  not  taken  during  war ;  but  "  in  order 
that  not  even  the  shadow  of  a  reflection  might  be  cast  upon  the  good 
faith  of  the  British  government,  the  latter  determined  to  give  the 
most  liberal  extension  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent;  and 
in  1818,  the  purchase  which  the  British  Company  had  made  in 
1813  was  restored  to  the  United  States ;  particular  care  being, 
however,  taken,  on  this  occasion,  to  prevent  any  misapprehension  as 
to  the  extent  of  the  concession  made  by  Great  Britain."  In  support 
of  this  last  assertion,  two  documents  are  produced,  as  having  been 
addressed,  in  1818,  by  the  British  ministers  to  their  own  agents,  and 
which,  though  never  before  published,  or  communicated  in  any  way  to 
the  United  States,  were  considered  by  the  plenipotentiaries,  in  1826, 
as  putting  the  ''  case  of  the  restoration  of  Fort  Astoria  in  too  clear 
a  light  to  require  further  observation."  One  of  these  documents  is 
presented  as  an  extract  from  Lord  Castlereagh's  despatch  to  Mr. 
Bagot,  dated  February  4th,  1818,  in  which  his  lordship  says,  "You 
will  observe,  that  whilst  this  government  is  not  disposed  to  contest 
with  the  American  government  the  point  of  possession,  as  it  stood 
in  the  Columbia  River,  at  the  moment  of  the  rupture,  they  are  not 
prepared  to  admit  the  validity  of  the  title  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States  to  this  settlement.  In  signifying,  therefore,  to  Mr. 
Adams  the  full  acquiescence  of  your  government  in  the  reoccupa- 
tion  of  the  limited  position  which  the  United  States  held  in  that 
river  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  you  will,  at  the  same  time,  assert, 
in  suitable  terms,  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  to  that  territory,  upon 
which  the  American  settlement  must  be  considered  an .  encroach- 


*  Statement  presented  by  the  BritiBh  plenipotentiaries  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  among  ths 
Proofs  and  Illustrations,  letter  H.    See  hereafler,  chap.  xvi. 


1818.] 


PRETENDED   BESEBVATION    OF   BRITISH    RIGHTS. 


311 


the 


ment ; "  the  plenipotentiaries  add  that  "  this  instruction  was  exe- 
cuted verbally  by  the  person  to  whom  it  was  addressed."  The 
other  document  purports  to  be  a  copy  of  the  despatch  from  Lord 
Bathurst  to  the  partners  of  the  North- West  Company,  mentioned  in 
the  Act  of  Delivery,  presented  by  Messrs.  Keith  and  Hickey,  direct- 
ing them  to  restore  the  post  on  the  Columbia,  "  in  pursuance  of  the 
first  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,"  in  which  the  words  "  without, 
however,  admitting  the  right  of  that  government  to  the  posseasion  in 
question "  appear  in  a  parenthesis."'*' 

Now,  as  the  treaty  of  Ghent  provides  for'the  restoration  of  "  all 
territory,  places,  and  possessions  whatsoever,  taken  by  either  party 
from  the  other  during  the  war,"  except  those  specially  named  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  it  is  needless  to  inquire  whether  Astoria  was  a  military 
post  or  not.  As  to  its  being  a  national  possession,  the  question  is 
sufficiently  answered  by  the  mere  statement  of  the  facts.  The  es- 
tablishment was  founded  by  a  company  of  American  citizens  formed 
under  a  charter  from  an  American  authority,  legally  empowered  to 
grant  it,  in  a  territory  which  either  belonged  to  the  United  Stater; 
or  to  Spain,  Oi  vas  free  and  open  to  the  whole  world.  The  United 
States  had  arq  no  rights,  by  discovery  and  occupation,  which  no 
other  power  t  .  -  Spain  could  contest ;  for  the  Nootka  Convention, 
under  which  Great  Britain  might  have  advanced  any  claim  in  the 
country,  had  expired  in  1796,  and  it  is  not  pretended  that  this 
agreement  was  renewed  until  August,  IBM.f  That  the  establish- 
ment thus  formed  was  a  national  possession,  agreeably  to  the  prin- 
ciples maintained  by  the  British  government,  there  can  bo  no  doubt ; 
the  fact  being  conclusively  proved  by  the  conduct  of  that  power 
with  respect  to  the  pretended  settlement  at  Nootka  in  1 790.  That 
this  possession  was  taken  by  the  British  during  war,  is  also  equally 
clear.  A  party  of  British  traders  came  to  the  fort,  or  factory,  and 
informed  its  holders  that  a  naval  force  was  on  its  way  from  England, 
with  orders  to  take  and  destroy  every  thing  American  in  that  quarter : 
these  traders,  at  the  same  time,  offered  to  purchase  the  property  of 
the  American  company ;  to  which  the  agents  of  the  latter  party 
agreed,  in  consideration  of  the  probability  that  it  would  otherwise 
be  lost  to  them,  either  by  capture  or  by  their  own  destruction  of  it. 
The  property  of  the  American  citizens  thus  passed  into  the  hands 
of  the  British  subjects  by  a  mercantile  operation :  yet  the  latter 
could  not  thereby  acquire,  nor  the  former  cede,  in  any  way,  the  na- 

*  See  copy  of  this  order,  as  first  produced  by  the  British  plcnipotontinries,  ia 
1827,  in  their  statement,  at  page  453  of  the  present  volume. 

♦  Upon  these  points  see  hereafter,  pages  318  to  320 


312 


PRETENDED   RESERVATION    OF   BRITISH   RIGHTS. 


[1818. 


tional  rights  of  the  United  States,  whatsoever  they  may  have  been, 
to  the  territory;  nor  was  any  such  idea  entertained  there  at  the 
time  of  the  transaction.  The  arrangement  between  the  chiefs  of 
the  two  companies  was  kept  secret,  and  the  American  flag  remained 
flying  over  the  fort,  until  its  surrender  to  the  British  naval  command- 
er, who  took  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  His  Britannic  Majesty, 
and  hoisted  the  ensign  of  his  nation  in  the  place  of  that  of  the 
United  States.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  did  the  rights  of  the  Amer- 
ican republic  cease ;  from  that  moment,  and  only  from  that  moment, 
did  they  remain  dormant,  until  their  revival  by  the  treaty  of  Ghent. 
Under  what  pther  title  than  that  of  conquest  did  Great  Britain  hold 
possession  during  the  intermediate  period  ? 

The  two  documents,  which  the  British  plenipotentiaries  consider 
as  putting  "the  case  of  the  restoration  of  Astoria  in  too  clear  a 
light  to  require  further  observation,"  are  wholly  inadmissible  as  evi- 
dence in  "  the  case,"  being  simply  despatches  from  British  ministers 
to  their  own  agents,  intended  exclusively  for  the  instruction  of  the 
latter,  and  with  which  the  United  States  have  no  more  concern  than 
with  the  private  opinions  of  those  ministers.  The  attempt  to  rep- 
resent such  communications  as  reservations  of  right  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain  to  the  very  territory  which  she  was  then  in  the  act  of 
restoring  to  the  United  States,  expressedly  in  pursuance  of  a  treaty, 
is  alike  at  variance  with  the  common  sense  and  the  common  morals 
of  the  day ;  and  no  arguments  are  required  to  show  that,  if  such 
reservations  were  allowable,  all  engagements  between  nations  would 
be  nugatory,  and  all  faith  at  an  end.  The  statement  respecting 
the  assertion  of  the  British  claim  to  Astoria,  verbally  made  by  Mr. 
Bagot  to  Mr.  Adams,  is  incomplete ;  for,  as  Mr.  Gallatin  justly  ob- 
served in  answer,  "  it  is  not  stated  how  the  communication  was  re- 
ceived, nor  whether  the  American  government  consented  to  accept 
the  restitution  with  the  reservation,  as  expressed  in  the  despatch  to 
the  envoy ; "  *  and  it  is,  moreover,  by  no  means  consonant  with  the 
usages  of  diplomatic  intercourse  at  the  present  day,  to  treat  verbally 
on  questions  so  important  as  those  of  territorial  sovereignty,  or  to 

*  Upon  the  subject  of  this  verbal  communication,  the  following  may  be  found  in 
Mr.  Adams's  despatch  to  Mr.  Rush,  of  July  22d,  1823 :  —  "  Previous  to  the  restora- 
tion of  the  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  in  1818,  and  again  upon 
the  first  introdi'ction  in  Congress  of  the  plan  for  constituting  a  territorial  govern- 
ment there,  some  disposition  was  manifei^ted,  by  Sir  Charles  Bagot  and  Mr.  [Strat- 
ford] Canning,  to  dispute  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  that  establishment,  and 
some  vague  intimation  was  given  of  the  British  claims  on  the  north-west  coast. 
The  restoration  of  the  place,  and  the  convention  of  1818,  were  considered  as  a 
final  disposnl  of  Mr.  Bngrnt's  objections,  and  Mr.  Canning  declined  committing  to 
paper  thus"  which  he  had  intimated  in  conversation." 


1818.] 


BRITISH   VIEWS   OF    NATIONAL   FAITH. 


m 


consider  as  sufficient,  protests  and  exceptions  made  in  that  manner, 
and  brought  forward  long  after,  without  acknowledgment  of  any 
kind  on  the  part  of  those  to  whom  they  are  said  to  have  been  ad- 
dressed. The  only  communication  received  by  the  American  gov- 
ernment, on  the  occasion  of  the  restitution  of  Astoria,  is  explicit : 
"  We,  the  undersigned,  do,  in  conformity  to  the  first  article  of  the 
treaty  of  Ghent,  restore  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  the 
tettlement  of  Fort  George,  on  the  Columbia  River ;  "  and  this  direct 
and  unqualified  recognition  of  the  light  of  the  United  States  cannot 
be  affected  by  subsequent  communications  to  or  from  any  persons. 

It  may  also  be  remarked,  that  altliough  the  British  government, 
in  1826,  pronounced  as  sufficient  a  reservation  contained  in  a  secret 
despatch  from  one  of  its  own  ministers  to  one  of  its  own  agents,  and 
withheld  from  the  other  party  interested  in  the  matter,  yet,  in  1834, 
the  same  government  pronounced  the  reservation  contained  in  the 
Declaration  publicly  presented  by  the  Spanish  ambassador  at  Lon- 
don, in  1771,  on  the  conclusion  of  the  dispute  respecting  the  Falk- 
land Islands,  "  not  to  possess  any  substantial  weight,"  *  inasmuch  as 
it  had  not  been  noticed  in  the  Acceptance  presented  by  the  British 
government  in  return.  The  circumstances  connected  with  the  last- 
mentioned  transaction  have  been  already  so  fully  exposed,  that  it 
is  unnecessary  to  repeat  them  here. 

Immediately  after  the  conclusion  of  the  surrender  of  Astoria, 
Mr.  Keith  presented  to  Mr.  Prevost  a  note  containing  inquiries  — 
whether  or  not  the  government  of  the  United  States  would  insist 
upon  the  abandonment  of  the  post  by  the  North- West  Company,f 
before  the  final  decision  of  the  question  as  to  the  right  of  sove- 
reignty over  the  country;  and  whether,  in  the  event  of  such  a 

*  Letter  from  Viscount  Palmerston  to  Seiior  Moreno,  envoy  of  Buenos  Ayres 
at  London,  dated  January  8th,  1834.  See  the  note  in  p.  Ill,  containing  a  sketch  of 
the  circumstances  of  the  dispute  respecting  the  Falkland  Islands. 

t  The  buildings,  and,  indeed,  the  whole  establishment  at  Astoria,  had  been  consid- 
erably increased,  since  it  came  into  the  hands  of  the  North- West  Company.  Accord 
ing  to  the  plan  and  description  of  the  place  sent  by  Mr.  Prevost  to  Washington,  the 
factory  consisted,  in  1818,  of  a  stockade  made  of  pine  logs,  twelve  feet  in  length 
above  the  ground,  enclosing  a  parallelogram  of  one  hundred  and  fifly  by  two  hundred 
and  fifty  feet,  extending  in  its  greatest  length  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and 
defended  by  bastions  or  towers  at  two  opposite  angles.  Within  this  enclosure  were 
all  the  buildings  of  the  establishment,  such  as  dwelling-houses,  magazines,  store- 
houses, mechanics'  shops,  &c.  The  artillery  were  two  heavy  eighteen-pounders, 
six  six-pounders,  four  four-pound  carronades,  two  six-pound  cohorns,  and  seven 
swivels,  all  mounted.  The  number  of  persons  attached  to  the  place,  besides  a  few 
women  and  children,  was  sixty-five,  of  whom  twenty-three  were  whites,  twenty-six 
Sandwich  Islanders,  (or  Kanakis,aa  they  are  generally  called  in  the  Pacific,)  and 
the  remainder  persons  of  mixed  blood,  from  Canada. 

40 


^^- 


314 


NEGOTIATION    AT   LONDON. 


[1818. 


decision  being  in  favor  of  the  United  States,  their  government 
would  be  disposed  to  indemnify  the  North- West  Company  for  any 
improvements  which  they  might,  in  the  mean  time,  have  made  there. 
On  these  points,  Mr.  Prevost,  having  no  instructions,  could  only 
reply,  as  he  did,  to  the  effect  —  that  his  government  would,  doubtless, 
if  it  should  determine  to  keep  up  the  settlement,  satisfy  any  claims  of 
the  North- West  Company  which  might  be  conformable  with  justice 
and  the  usages  of  civilized  nations.  After  a  few  days  more  spent 
on  the  Columbia,  the  Blossom  quitted  the  river  with  Mr.  Prevost, 
whom  she  carried  to  Peru,  the  post  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the 
British  traders,'  who  have  ever  since  continued  to  occupy  it. 

Whilst  these  measures  for  the  restitution  of  Astoria  were  in 
progress,  a  negotiation  was  carried  on,  at  London,  between  the 
plenipotentiaries  of  the  American  and  British  governments,  for  the 
definitive  arrangement  of  many  questions  which  were  left  unsettled 
by  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  including  those  relating  to  the  boundaries 
of  the  territories  of  the  two  nations  west  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods.* 
Messrs.  Rush  and  Gallatin,  the  plenipotentiaries  of  the  United 
States,  proposed  —  that  the  dividing  line  between  those  territories 
should  be  drawn  from  the  north-western  extremity  of  that  lake, 
north  or  south,  as  the  case  might  require,  to  the  49th  parallel 
of  latitude,  and  thence  along  that  parallel  west  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  British  commissioners,  Messrs.  Goulburn  and  Robin- 
son, after  a  discussion  in  which  they  endeavored  to  secure  to  British 
subjects  the  right  of  access  to  the  Mississippi,  and  of  navigating 
that  river,  agreed  to  admit  the  line  proposed  as  far  west  as  the 
Rocky  Mountains ;  and  an  article  to  that  effect  was  accordingly 
inserted  in  the  projet  of  a  convention. 

The  claims  of  the  respective  nations  to  territories  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  were  then  considered.  Messrs.  Rush  and  Galla- 
tin "  did  not  assert  that  the  United  States  had  a  perfect  right  to  that 
country,  but  insisted  that  their  claim  was  at  least  good  against  Great 
Britain ;  "  and  they  cited,  in  support  of  that  claim,  the  facts  of  the 
discovery  of  the  Columbia  River,  of  the  first  exploration  from  its 
sources  to  its  mouth,  and  of  the  formation  of  the  first  establishments 
in  the  country  through  which  it  flows,  by  American  citizens. 
Messrs.  Goulburn  and  Robinson,  on  the  other  hand,  aflirmed  "  that 
former  voyages,  and  principally  that  o'"  *^aptain  Cook,  gave  to 
Great  Britain  the  rights  derived  from  discovi      ,  and  they  alluded  to 

*  President  Monroe's  message  to  Congress,  wit'  the  accompanying  documents, 
sent  December  29th,  1818. 


1818.1     CONVENTION    OF    UNITED    STATES    AND    GREAT    BRITAIN.     315 


purchases  from  the  natives  south  of  the  Columbia,  which  they 
alleged  to  have  been  made  prior  to  the  American  revolution. 
They  did  not  make  any  formal  proposition  for  a  boundary,  but 
intimated  that  the  river  itself  was  the  most  convenient  which  could 
be  adopted ;  and  that  they  would  not  agree  to  any  which  did  not 
give  them  the  harbor  at  the  mouth  of  that  river,  in  common  with 
the  United  States." 

It  is  needless  here  to  repeat  the  proofs  that  Cook  saw  no  part  of 
the  west  coast  of  America  south  of  Mount  San  Jacinto,  near  the 
57th  degree  of  latitude,  which  had  not  been  already  explored  by 
the  Spaniards;  with  regard  to  the  purchases  from  the  natives 
south  of  the  Columbia,  alleged  to  have  been  made  I  (>  iish 
subjects  prior  to  the  revolution,  history  is  entirely  silent.  The  de- 
termination expressed  on  the  part  of  the  British  government  not  to 
assent  to  any  arrangement  which  did  not  give  to  Great  Britain  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  was  at  least  unequivocal,  and  was  sufficient 
to  show  that  all  arguments  on  the  American  side  would  be  unavailing. 
It  was,  accordingly,  at  length  agreed  that  all  territories  and  their 
waters,  claimed  by  either  power,  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
should  be  free  and  open  to  the  vessels,  citizens,  and  subjects,  of 
both  for  the  space  of  ten  years ;  provided,  however,  that  no  claim 
of  either,  or  of  any  other  nation,  to  any  part  of  those  territories, 
should  be  prejudiced  by  the  arrangement. 

This  convention  having  been  completed,  it  was  signed  by  the 
plenipotentiaries  on  the  20th  of  October,  1818,  and  was  soon  after 
ratified  by  the  governments  of  both  nations.*  The  compromise 
contained  in  its  third  article,  with  regard  to  the  territories  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  was,  perhaps,  the  most  wise,  as  well  as  the 
most  equitable,  measure  which  could  have  been  adopted  at  that 
time  ;  considering  that  neither  party  pretended  to  possess  a  perfect 
title  to  the  sovereignty  of  any  of  those  territories,  and  that  there 
was  no  prospect  of  the  speedy  conclusion  of  any  arrangement  with 
regard  to  them,  between  either  party  and  the  other  claimants, 
Spain  and  Russia.  The  agreement  could  not  certainly,  at  the 
time,  have  been  considered  unfavorable  to  the  United  States ;  for, 
although  the  North-West  Company  held  the  whole  trade  of  the 
Columbia  country,  yet  the  important  post  at  the  mouth  of  that 
river  was  restored  to  the  Americans  without  reservation,  and  there 
was  every  reason  for  supposing  that  it  would  be  immediately  re- 

•  See  the  third  article  of  the  convention  of  October,  1818,  among  the  Proofs  and 
Illustrations,  in  the  latter  part  of  this  History,  under  the  letter  K,  No.  2. 


I'll 


m 


316  FLORIDA  TRKATT   BETWEEN   U.    STATES    AND   SPAIN.      [1818. 

occupied  by  its  founders :  and  it  seemed,  moreover,  evident  that 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States  would  enjoy  many  and  great 
advantages  over  all  other  people  in  the  country  in  q  iestioi),  in  con- 
sequence of  their  superior  facilities  of  access  to  it,  especially  since 
the  introduction  of  steam  vessels  on  the  Mississippi  and  its  branches. 

In  the  same  year,  a  negotiation  was  carried  on  at  Washington, 
between  the  governments  of  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in  whicn 
the  question  of  boundaries  on  the  north-west  side  oi  America  was 
likewise  discussed.  The  Spanish  minister,  Don  Luis  de  Onis, 
began  by  declaring  that  "  the  right  and  dominion  of  the  crown  of 
Spain  to  the  (lorth-west  coast  of  America  as  high  as  the  Californias, 
is  certain  and  indisputable ;  the  Spaniards  having  explored  it  as  far 
as  the  47th  degree,  in  the  expedition  under  Juan  de  Fuca,  in  1592, 
and  in  that  under  Admiral  Font^,  to  the  55th  degree,  in  1640.  The 
dominion  of  Spain  in  these  vast  regions  being  thus  established,  and 
her  rights  of  discovery,  conquest,  and  possession,  being  never  dis- 
puted, she  could  scarcely  possess  a  property  founded  on  more  re- 
spectable principles,  whether  of  the  law  of  nations,  of  public  law,  or 
of  any  others  which  serve  as  a  basis  to  such  acquisitions  as  compose 
all  the  independent  kingdoms  and  states  of  the  earth."  Upon  these 
positive  assertions,  the  American  plenipotentiary,  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams, 
secretary  of  state,  did  not  consider  himself  required  to  offer  any 
comment ;  and  the  origin,  extent,  and  value,  of  the  claims  of  Spain 
to  the  north-western  portion  of  America  remained  unquestioned 
during  the  discussion.  The  negotiation  was  broken  off  in  the  early 
part  of  the  year,  soon  after  its  commencement ;  it  was,  however, 
renewed,  and  was  terminated  on  the  22d  of  February,  1819,  by  a 
treaty  commonly  called  the  Florida  treaty,  in  which  the  southern 
boundaries  of  the  United  Slates  were  definitively  fixed.  Spain 
ceded  Florida  to  the  American  republic,  which  relinquished  all 
claims  to  territories  west  of  the  River  Sabine,  and  south  of  the 
upper  parts  of  the  Red  and  the  Arkansas  Rivers;  and  it  was 
agreed  that  a  line  drawn  on  the  meridian  from  the  source  of  the 
Arkansas  northward  to  the  42d  parallel  of  latitude,  and  thence 
along  that  parallel  westward  to  the  Pacific,  should  form  the 
northern  boundary  of  the  Spanish  possessions,  and  the  southern 
boundary  of  those  of  the  United  States,  in  that  quarter,  —  "  His 
Catholic  majesty  ceding  to  the  United  States  all  his  rights,  claims, 
and  pretensions,  to  any  territories  north  of  the  said  line."  ' 

The  provisions  of  this  treaty,  particularly  those  relating  to  limits, 
appear  to  have  been  as  nearly  just  as  any  which  could  have  been 


1819.]      FLORIDA  TREATY   BETWEEN   THE    U.  S.    AXD    SPAIN. 


317 


framed  under  existing  circumstances;  and  us  an  almost  necessary 
consequence,  they  were  not  received  with  general  satisfaction  by 
either  nation.  The  Americans  insisted  that  the  Rio  del  Norte  should 
have  been  made  the  boundary  of  their  republic  in  the  south-west, 
so  as  to  secure  to  it  the  possession  of  the  vast  and  fertile  region  of 
Texas,  which  they  claimed  as  originally  forming  part  of  Louisiana ; 
whilst  the  Spaniards  protested  that  their  interests  in  the  new  world 
had  been  sacrificed  by  the  surrender  of  Florida  to  the  power  most 
dangerous  to  them  in  that  quarter.  The  Spanish  government, 
which  was  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Cortes,  withheld  its  ratification 
of  the  treaty  for  nearly  two  years ;  and  within  a  year  after  that 
ratification  had  been  given,  the  authority  of  Spain  was  extin- 
guished in  every  portion  of  America  conti'ruous  to  the  new  line  of 
boundary.* 

With  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  the  validity  of  the  title  to  it  thus  acquired  by  the 
United  States,  it  will  be  convenient  here  to  introduce  some  ob- 
servations. 


*  See  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  of  1819,  defining  the  boundary,  ai  settled,  in 
the  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  under  the  Letter  K,  No.  6.  The  correspondence  which 
passed  during  the  negotiation  may  be  found  accompanying  Presiderft  Monroe's  mes- 
sage to  Congress  of  February  22d,  1819.  Great  skill  and  knowledge  of  the  subject  are 
displayed  by  each  of  the  plenipotentiaries  in  this  correspondence  ;  the  Clievalier  de 
Onis  occasionally  employing  that  finesse  which  was  considered  as  the  principal 
weapon  of  the  diplomatist  of  the  lost  centuries,  while  Mr.  Adams,  in  addition  to  hit 
superior  acquaintance  with  history  and  national  law,  impresses  upon  the  reader  hii 
profound  conviction  of  the  justice  of  his  cause. 

The  Spanish  plenipotentiary,  on  returning  to  his  country,  found  it  necessary  to 
vindicate  his  conduct  in  this  negotiation,  by  a  Memoir,  published  at  Madrid  in  1820, 
in  which  he  shows  that  he  was  by  no  means  convinced  of  the  right  of  Spain  to  the 
territory  west  of  the  Sabine  River;  and  he  claims  especial  commendation  from  hit 
government  for  this  part  of  the  treaty  of  1819,  "  which,"  he  says,  "  is  improperly 
styled  a  treaty  of  cession,  whereas  it  is  in  reality  one  of  exchange,  or  permutation,  of 
a  small  province  for  another  of  double  the  extent,  more  rich  and  fertile.  1  will 
agree,"  he  adds,  "that  the  third  article  might,  with  greater  clearness,  have  been  ex- 
pressed thus :  '  In  exchange,  the  United  States  cede  to  his  Catholic  majesty  the  provijieB 
of  Texas,'  &c. ;  but  as  I  had  been  for  three  years  maintaining,  in  the  lengthened  cor- 
respondence herein  inserted,  that  this  province  belonged  to  the  king,  it  would  havo 
been  a  contradiction  to  express,  in  the  treaty,  that  the  United  States  cede  it  to  his 
majesty." 

The  Chevalier  de  Onis,  however,  insinuates,  in  his  Memoir,  that  one  object  of  hii 
long  correspondence  on  this  subject  was  to  gain  time.  In  fact,  during  the  summer 
of  1S18,  while  the  correspondence  was  partially  suspended,  (with  the  same  object  of 
gaining  time,  no  doubt,)  the  Spanish  government  formally  applied  to  that  of  Great 
Britain  for  aid,  or  mediation,  in  the  affair;  to  which  Lord  Castlereagh  immediately 
returned  a  decided  negative,  at  the  same  time  advising  the  Spanish  government  to 
cede  Florida  to  the  United  States,  and  to  make  any  other  arrangement  which  might 
be  deemed  proper,  xoilhout  delay. 


318 


BRITISH    VIEWS   Of   THE    DURATION   Or    TREATIES.       [1819. 


It  will  be  necessary,  in  the  first  place,  to  inquire  what  effect  the 
Nootka  convention,  concluded  in  1790  between  Great  Britain  and 
Spain,  could  have  on  this  title. 

That  the  Nootka  convention  expired  on  the  commencement  of 
war  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  in  October,  1796,  has  been 
already  shown  to  be  conformable  with  the  principles  of  reason  and 
'  justice,  with  the  opinions  of  the  most  distinguished  writers  on  na- 
tional law,  and  with  the  universal  practice  of  nations  for  ages ; '"' 
and  that  Great  Britain  supports  this  view  in  its  fullest  extent  is 
abundantly  proved  by  reference  to  the  negotiations  between  her 
government  and  that  of  the  United  States,  in  1815,  with  regard  to 
the  Newfoundland  Hsheries.f  The  British  minister  on  that  occa- 
sion declared,  that  his  nation  "  knew  no  exception  to  the  rule  that 
all  treaties  are  put  an  end  to  by  a  subsequent  war  between  the  same 
parties,^'  though  he  admitted  that  treaties  might  contain  "  acknowl- 
edgments of  title  in  the  nature  of  perpetual  obligations."  This,  how- 
ever, is  by  no  means  the  case  with  the  Nootka  convention,  which  is, 
in  every  respect,  a  series  of  "  temporary  concessions  "  on  both  sides. 
To  navigate  and  fish  in  the  open  sea,  and  to  trade  and  settle  on 
coasts  unoccupied  by  a  civilized  nation,  are  general  rights  claimed 

•  See  NOTE  on  this  subject,  page  259. 

f  The  interesting  and  able  discussions,  on  this  subject,  between  Mr.  J.  Q.  Adams, 
the  An.erican  plenipotentiary  at  London,  and  Lord  Bathurst,  the  British  secretary 
for  the  colonies,  having  charge  of  the  department  of  foreign  affairs,  may  be  found 
among  the  documents  annexed  to  President  Monroe's  message  to  Congress  of  De- 
cember 29,  1819. 

Mr.  Adams,  on  that  occasion,  insisted  that  his  countrymen  should  continue,  not 
only  to  fish  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  but  also  to  land  on  the  British  Ameri- 
can coasts  for  the  same  purpose,  as  they  had  done  before  the  war  of  1812,  by  the 
treaty  of  1783,  although  that  treaty  had  not  been  renewed  by  the  treaty  of  Ghent, 
at  the  termination  of  the  war  —  upon  the  ground  that  the  treaty  of  1763,  by  which 
Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  United  States,  was  "of  a 
peculiar  nature,  and  bore,  in  that  nature,  a  character  of  permanency,  not  subject, 
like  many  of  the  ordinary  contracts  between  independent  nations,  to  abrogation  by 
a  subsequent  war  between  the  same  parties."  To  this  Lord  fiatluirst  answered, 
that,  "  if  the  United  States  derived  from  the  treaty  of  1783  privileges  from  which 
other  independent  nations,  not  admitted  by  treaty,  were  excluded,  the  duration  of 
those  privileges  must  depend  on  the  duration  of  the  instrument  by  which  they 
were  granted  ;  and  if  the  war  abrogated  the  treaty,  it  determined  the  privileges. 
It  has  been  urged,  indeed,"  continues  his  lordship,  "on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  that  the  treaty  of  1783  was  of  a  peculiar  nature,  and  that,  because  it  con- 
tained a  recognition  of  American  independence,  it  could  not  be  abrogated  by  a 
subsequent  war  between  the  parties.  To  a  position  of  this  novel  nature  Great 
Britain  cannot  accede.  She  knotes  of  no  exception  to  the  rule,  that  .all  treaties  are 
put  an  end  to  by  a  subsequent  tear  between  the  same  parties :  she  cannot,  therefore, 
consent  to  give  to  her  diplomatic  relations  with  one  state  a  different  degree  of  per- 
manency from  that  on  which  her  connection  with  all  other  states  depends.     Nor 


1819. 


1819.] 


NOOTKA    CONVENTION    ABROGATED    IN    1796. 


319 


ct  the 
n  and 

3n\  of 
)  been 
3n  and 
on  na- 
ages ;  * 
[tent  is 
;en  her 
<;ard  to 
it  occa- 
ule  that 
the  same 
icknowl- 
lis,  how- 
wrhich  is, 
)th  sides, 
settle  on 
claimed 


by  all  civilized  nations  on   the  grounds  of  obvious  justice  and 
reason ;  yet  reason  and  justice  in  many  cases  also  obviously  indi- 
cate modifications  in  the  exercise  of  these  rights,  some  of  which  are 
conceded  by  common  consent,  while  others  arc  made  the  subjects 
of  treaties.    Spain,  before  1790,  had  always  resisted  the  exercise  of 
these  rights  with  regard  to  the  parts  of  America,  bordering  on  the 
Pacific  and  Southern  Oceans,  of  wiiich  her  pretensions  to  the  ex- 
clusive occupation  had  been  indirectly  admitted,  or  suffered,  by 
various  maritime  powers,  as  shown  by  all  their  treaties  with  her, 
since  and  including  those  of  Utrecht,  in  language  sufficiently  dis- 
tinct to  warrant  her  government  in  maintaining  those  pretensions.* 
By  the  Nootka  treaty,  she  merely  engaged  to  desist  from  the  exer- 
cise of  all  the  privileges  thus  conceded  to  her,  by  long  usage  and 
repeated  treaties,  so  far  as  concerned  British  subjects,  with  the  con- 
dition that  they  should  in  return  be  restrained  from  the  exercise  of 
certain  other  privileges,  claimed  for  them  by  their  government, 
under  the  general  law  of  nations.     Both  parties  were  equally  en- 
titled, by  that  general  law,  to  settle  on  the  unoccupied  southernmost 
coasts  of  America  ;  yet  both  were,  by  the  convention,  equally  ex- 
cluded from  making  any  settlements  there.    The  northwest  coasts  of 


Q.  Adams, 
h  secretary 
be  found 
■resB  of  De- 

ntinue,  not 
tish  Ameri- 
812,  by  the 
of  Ghent, 
,  by  which 
was  "  of  a 
not  subject, 
)rogation  by 
answered, 
from  which 
duration  of 
which  they 
privileges, 
the  United 
ause  it  con- 
ogated  by  a 
ature  Great 
treaties  are 
i,  therefore, 
gree  of  per- 
pends.   Nor 


can  she  consider  any  one  state  at  liberty  to  assign  to  a  treaty,  made  with  her,  such 
a  peculiarity  of  character  as  shall  make  it,  as  to  duration,  an  exception  to  all  other 
treaties,  in  order  to  found  on  a  peculiarity,  thus  assumed,  an  irrevocable  title  to  all 
indulgences  which  have  all  the  features  of  temporary  concessions."  The  British 
minister  proceeded  to  show,  that  the  independence  of  a  state  is  that  which  cannot 
be  correctly  said  to  be  granted  by  a  treaty,  but  to  be  acknowledged  by  one,  "and 
thot,  by  whatever  mode  acknowledged,  the  acknowledgment  is,  in  its  own  nature, 
irrevocable.  A  power  of  modifying  it  would  be  destructive  of  the  thing  itself; 
and  therefore,  all  such  power  is  necessarily  renounced  when  the  acknowledgment  is 
made.  The  war  could  not  put  an  end  to  it,  for  the  reason  justly  assigned  by  the 
American  minister,  because  a  nation  could  not  forfeit  its  sovereignty  by  the  act  of 
exercising  it,"  «tc.  Lord  Bathurst  further  observed,  that  "  it  is  by  no  means  un- 
usual for  treaties,  containing  acknowledgments  of  title  in  the  nature  of  perpetual 
obligations,  to  contain,  likewise,  grants  of  privileges  liable  to  revocation ; "  and, 
referring  to  the  treaty  of  1783,  he  showed,  that  the  right  of  the  Americans  to  fish 
on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  (that  is  to  say,  in  the  open  sea)  was  there  distinctly 
acknowledged,  While  the  liberty  to  use  the  British  coasts  for  the  same  purpose  was 
conceded  to  them ;  and  that,  although  the  right  subsisted  in  virtue  of  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  United  States,  the  liberty  expired  on  the  declaration  of  war  in 
1812,  and  could  not  again  be  enjoyed,  without  the  express  consent  of  Great  Britain. 

The  position  thus  assumed  by  the  British  government  was  maintained  through- 
out the  negotiation  ;  at  the  end  of  which,  by  the  convention  of  October  20,  1818, 
the  liberty  to  take  and  cure  fish  on  certain  parts  of  the  British  American  coasts,  so 
long  as  they  should  remain  unsettled,  was  secured  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  in  common  with  British  subjects,  forever ;  that  is  to  say,  until  the  com- 
mencement of  another  war  between  the  two  nations. 

*  See  page  %. 


M 


^%M 


NOOTKA   CONTENTION    NEVER   RENEWED. 


[1819. 


the  northern  continent  were,  in  like  manner,  equally  open  to  both ; 
yet  it  was  agreed  that  neither  party  should  have  the  right  to  ap- 
propriate  to  itself  any  spot  on  those  coasts  not  actually  occupied  by 
its  subjects,  or  to  exclude  the  subjects  of  the  other  from  any  spot 
lo  occupied.  All  ideas  of  sovereignty  or  domain,  in  any  of  these 
territories,  are  expressly  repelled  and  provided  against  by  the  re- 
peated words,  as  well  as  by  the  whole  spirit,  of  the  convention ;  the 
territories  taken  from  the  subjects  of  the  respective  sovereigns  are 
to  be  restored  to  (he  said  subjects,  not  to  their  sovereign."  or  na- 
tions ;  the  privileges  to  be  enjoyed,  and  the  restrictions  to  bo  ob- 
lerved,  apply  only  to  the  subjects  ;  and  their  sovereigns  or  nationi 
could  do  no  more,  under  the  convention,  than  see  that  those  privi- 
leges were  enjoyed  and  those  restrictions  were  maintained.  The 
recognition  of  such  restrictions  and  privileges  is  utterly  incom- 
patible with  permanence  of  right ;  depending,  as  they  do,  entirely 
upon  the  concurrence  of  both  parties.  When  that  concurrence 
ceased,  as  it  did  on  the  breaking  out  of  war  in  1796,  the  recogni- 
tion perished  with  it,  and  could  not  be  revived  without  the  express 
renewal  of  the  concurrence. 

The  war  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  begun  in  October, 
1796,  was  terminated,  by  the  general  piece  of  Amiens,  on  the  27th 
of  March,  1802:  it  was,  however,  renewed  before  the  end  of  the 
following  year,  and  continued  to  the  14th  of  Jonuary,  1809,  when 
a  treaty  of  peace  and  alliance  was  concluded  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  Supreme  Junta  of  Spain,  under  which  they  remained, 
acting  in  conjunction  against  France,  until  the  general  peace  in 
1814.  No  engagement  for  the  renewal  of  international  compacts 
existing  before  1796  was,  however,  made  before  the  28lh  of 
August,  1814,  when,  in  the  first  of  the  three  additional  articles  to 
the  treaty  of  Madrid  of  the  20th  of  July  previous,  "  //  is  agreed 
that,  pending  the  negotiation  of  a  new  treaty  of  commerce,  Oreat 
Britain  shall  be  admitted  to  trade  with  Spain  upon  the  same  condi- 
tions as  those  which  existed  previously  to  1796  ;  all  the  treaties  of 
commerce,  which  at  that  period  subsisted  between  the  two  nations, 
being  hereby  ratified  and  confirmed."  Thus  the  Nootka  contention 
could  not  have  been  in  force  at  any  time  between  October,  1796, 
and  August,  1814;  nor  since  that  period,  unless  it  were  renewed 
by  the  additional  article  above  quoted.  That  the  first  part  of  this 
article  related  only  to  trade  between  the  European  dominions  of 
Great  Britain  and  Spain  is  certain,  because  no  trade  had  ever  been 
allowed,  by  treaty  or  otherwise,  between  either  kingdom,  or  its  colo- 


1819. 

both; 
to  ap- 
led  by 
y  ipot 
'  theie 
he  re- 
n;  the 
;ni  are 
or  na- 
bo  ob- 
nntioni 
3  privi- 
.    The 
incotn- 
entirely 
urrence 
recogni- 
expreii 

Dctober, 
the  27th 
I  of  the 
9,  when 
Britain 
inained, 
)cace  in 
ompacts 
28th  of 
tides  to 
agreed 
,  Great 
condi- 
mties  of 
nations, 
nvention 
,  1796, 
renewed 
t  of  this 
lions  of 
vcr  been 
its  colo- 


1819.] 


RIQHTt    or    SPAIN    IN    NORTH-WCBT    AMERICA. 


391 


le 


;r 


nics,  and  the  colonics  of  the  other,  except  in  the  single  case  of  the 
aiicntOf  concluded  in  1713,  and  abrogated  in  1740,  agreeably  to 
which  the  British  South  Sea  Company  supplied  the  Spanish  colo- 
nies with  negro  slaves  during  that  period  ;  a:id  because,  moreover, 
by  an  article  in  the  treaty  of  Madrid,  to  which  the  above-quoted 
article  is  additional,  "  In  the  event  of  the  commerce  of  the  Spanith 
American  colonies  being  opened  to  foreign  nations,  his  Catholic  majeS' 
ty  promises  that  Great  Britain  shall  be  admitted  to  trade  with  those 
possessions,  as  the  most  favored  nation."*  The  second  part  of  the 
additional  article  is  evidently  intended  merely  in  confirmation  of  the 
first,  which  would  otherwise  have  wanted  the  requisite  degree  of 
precision ;  and  the  object  of  the  whole  was,  as  clearly,  to  restore 
*' the  trade  between  the  two  nations'^  upon  '•  <Ac  same  conditio,  %  at 
those  which  existed  previously  to  1796  "  excluding  all  reference  to 
stipulations  directed,  like  those  of  the  Nootka  convention,  solely 
and  expressly  to  prevent  nil  trade  between  them. 

It  has  been  abundantly  proved,  in  preceding  chapters  of  this  his- 
tory, that,  neither  before  the  conclusion  of  the  Nootka  convention, 
nor  during  its  subsistence,  did  Great  Britain  or  her  subjects  acquire 
a  right,  by  occupation  or  ownership  of  the  soil  in  any  way,  to  a 
single  spot  on  the  north-west  side  of  America ;  whilst  Spain  had 
created  for  herself  a  valid  right  of  sovereignty,  at  Nootka,  by  her 
establishment  formed  there  before  the  convention,  and  maintained 
until  the  spring  of  1795.  As  Spain  did,  however,  at  the  latter 
period,  admit  the  rigiit  of  British  subjects  to  occupy  lands  at 
Nootka,  by  the  act  of  the  delivery  of  those  lands  agreeably  to  the 
convention,  that  right  will  not  now  be  questioned.  The  surrender, 
however,  applied  merely  to  those  lands  and  to  no  others  ;  it  was 
made  in  favor  of  British  subjects,  and  could  not  have  involved  the 
transfer  or  acknowledgment  of  any  right  of  domain  or  sovereignty 
to  their  nation.  The  lands  thus  delivered  were  never  u.cupied, 
and,  on  the  abrogation  of  this  convention,  by  war,  in  17Uu,  not  a 
single  subject  of  either  nation  was  to  be  found  in  any  part  of 
America,  bordering  on  the  Pacific,  north  of  the  bay  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. When  the  convention  ended,  therefore,  neither  Spain  nor 
Great  Britain  possessed  any  sovereignty  there,  agreeably  to  the 
general  law  of  nations ;  and  whatsoever  may  have  been  the  claims 
of  Spain,  founded  on  discoveries  and  bettlements  anterior  to  the 

•  This  hag  been  distinctly  declared,  by  the  British  government,  in  the  discussions 
with  Spain  relative  to  the  duties  on  sugar  from  the  Spanish  colonies.  See  cor- 
respondence between  Lord  Aberdeen  and  the  Duke  of  Sotomayor,  and  the  debate* 
in  parliament  on  the  subject,  in  August,  1843. 

41 


322      RIGHTS    OF   THE    U.    S.    UNDER   THE    FLORIDA   TREATT.     [1819. 

convention,  they  had  undoubtedly  been  considerably  lessened  by 
her  entire  neglect  of  those  regions,  and  her  quiet  submission  to  the 
occupation  of  various  parts  by  other  nations,  during  the  whole 
period  between  her  abandonment  of  Nootka,  and  the  cession  of  her 
claims  to  the  United  States,  by  the  Florida  treaty.  The  Russians 
had  held  long  and  undisputed  possession  of  the  coasts  north  of  the 
latitude  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  and  had  even  occupied  a  posi- 
tion near  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  The  British  had  formed  es- 
tablishments which  gave  to  them  rights  in  the  country  drained  by 
Fraser's  River ;  and  the  Americans  had,  in  like  manner,  acquired 
rights,  by  exploration  and  settlement,  in  the  regions  of  the  Colum- 
bia. The  rights  of  these  powers  to  the  territories  thus  held  by 
them  respectively,  Spain,  and  no  other  power  than  Spain,  could 
legally  contest ;  and  it  was  in  consideration  of  this  imperfection  of 
their  claims,  as  well  as  to  prevent  disputes  between  themselves,  that 
the  British  and  the  Americans  admitted  each  other  to  equality  in  the 
use  of  all  the  regions  claimed  by  both,  for  a  limited  period,  by 
the  convention  of  October,  1818. 

Thus  it  is  demonstrated,  that  the  Nootka  convention  did  not  sub- 
sist at  the  time  when  the  Florida  treaty  was  concluded ;  and  that 
if  it  had  then  continued  in  force,  it  could  only  have  served  to  pre- 
vent both  the  parties  to  it,  and  no  other  parties,  from  acquiring  sover- 
eignty in  North-west  America.  It  might  have  invalidated  the  rights 
of  Great  Britain  in  the  Fraser's  River  country  ;  but  it  could  not  have 
affected  those  of  the  United  States  to  the  Columbia  regions,  which 
were  founded  on  discovery  and  occupation,  under  the  general  law 
of  nations. 

Though  it  may  be  doubted  that  any  other  nation  could,  in 
justice,  have  claimed  the  sovereignty  of  any  territory  north  of  the 
Bay  of  San  Francisco,  on  the  ground  of  occupation,  without  the 
assent  of  Spain,  at  the  time  when  the  Florida  treaty  was  concluded, 
it  is  certain  that  the  latter  power  could  not,  agreeably  to  any 
principle  or  general  rules  of  national  law,  have  claimed  the  exclu- 
sive possession  of  any  spot  in  that  territory,  or  have  entered  into 
engagements  respecting  its  trade,  navigation,  or  settlement,  with  a 
nation  other  than  the  one  so  claiming  it  by  occupation. 

Thus,  whilst  the  title  to  the  countries  north  of  the  42d  parallel, 
derived  by  the  United  States  from  Spain,  in  1819,  was  undoubtedly 
imperfect,  yet  that  title,  in  addition  to  those  previously  possessed  by 
the  United  States,  in  virtue  of  their  discoveries  and  settlements, 
made  under  the  general  law  of  nations,  constituted  together  a  right 


1820.] 


LONG  S    EXPEDITION   TO   THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 


333 


ould,  in 
of  the 
lOUt  the 
iicluded, 
to  any 
le  exclu- 
>red  into 
,  with  a 

parallel, 
loubtedly 
lessed  by 
Itlements, 
^r  a  right 


in  their  favor  stronger  than  could  be  alleged  by  any  other  pow- 
er. This  right  could  not  be  legally  contested  by  Great  Britain, 
either  on  the  ground  of  the  Nootka  convention  or  of  the  law  of 
nations.  It  was  an  exclusive  right  to  occupy,  within  a  reasonable 
time,  the  countries  drained  by  the  Columbia  River,  and  those  im- 
mediately attached  to  them,  not  already  occupied  by  another  civilized 
nation ;  and  the  fulfilment  of  that  condition  would  perfect  the 
sovereignty  of  the  United  States  in  those  countries. 

Soon  after  the  signature  of  the  Florida  treaty,  an  expedition  for 
the  purpose  of  examining  the  country  drained  by  the  Missouri  and 
its  branches  was  organized  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  the  Secretary  of  State 
of  the  United  States,  who  had  been,  for  some  time  previous,  assidu- 
ously endeavoring  to  regulate  the  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  and 
to  extend  the  military  posts  of  the  Union  through  those  regions.* 
The  expedition  was  conducted  by  Major  Stephen  Long,  who, 
accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  officers  and  men  of  science, 
ascended  the  River  Platte  to  the  source  of  its  southern  branch,  in 
1820,  and  thence  returned,  by  way  of  the  Arkansas,  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, f  Much  information  was  obtained,  through  this  expedition, 
respecting  the  geography,  natural  history,  and  aboriginal  inhabitants, 
.  of  those  regions ;  and  a  fact,  most  important  in  a  political  point  of 
view,  was  then  first  established  —  namely,  that  the  whole  division  of 
North  America,  drained  by  the  Missouri  and  the  Arkansas,  and 
their  tributaries,  between  the  meridian  of  the  mouth  of  the  Platte 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  almost  entirely  unfit  for  cultivation, 
and  therefore  uninhabitable  by  a  people  depending  upon  agricul- 
ture for  their  subsistence. 

Changes  were,  about  the  same  time,  made  in  the  system  of  the 
British  trade  in  the  northern  parts  of  America,  which  led  to  the 
most  important  political  and  commercial  results. 

Frequent  allusions  have  been  already  made  to  the  enmity  subsist- 
ing between  the  Hudson's  Bay  and  the  North- West  Companies. 

*  See  Mr.  Calhoun's  report  on  this  subject  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  dated 
December  5th,, 1818,  in  which  he  reviews  the  system  of  intercourse  with  the  In- 
dians, then  pursued,  and  recommends,  as  the  only  means  of  protecting  them  against 
the  cupidity  of  the  traders,  and  of  securing  the  United  States  against  the  delete- 
rious influence  exercised  over  those  people  by  the  British  trading  companies,  that 
the  whole  trade  in  the  regions  beyond  the  organized  states  and  territories  of  the 
Union  should  be  vested,  for  twenty  years,  in  a  company,  subject  to  such  regulations 
as  might  be  prescribed  by  law.  This  document  merits  attention,  from  the  accu- 
racy of  the  details  and  the  force  of  the  reasoning ;  and  we  may  now  regret  that 
the  plan  proposed  by  Mr.  Calhoun  was  not  carried  into  effect. 

t  Narrative  of  the  expedition,  by  Dr.  James,  in  2  vols.  8vo.,  with  an  atlas.         ' 


824 


DI8FCTEB   or   BBITISH   rUR   COMPANIES.  ^  '>-' 


[1816 


This  feeling  was  displayed  only  in  words,  or  in  the  commission  of 
petty  acts  of  injury  or  annoyance  by  each  against  the  other,  until 
1814,  when  a  regular  war  broke  out  between  the  parties,  which 
was,  for  some  time  after,  openly  carried  on.  The  scene  of  the 
hostilities  was  the  territory  traversed  by  the  Red  River  of  Hudson's 
Bay  and  its  branches,  in  which  Lord  Selkirk,  a  Scotch  nobleman^ 
had,  in  1811,  obtained  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  a  grant 
of  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  square  miles,  for  the  establish- 
ment of  agricultural  colonies.  The  validity  of  this  grant  was 
denied  by  the  North- West  Company,  to  which  the  proposed  occu- 
pation of  the  territory  in  question  would  have  been  absolutely 
ruinous,  as  the  routes  from  Canada  to  the  north-western  trading 
posts  ran  through  it,  and  from  it  were  obtained  nearly  all  the  pro- 
visions consumed  at  those  posts.  The  British  government,  however, 
appeared  to  favor  and  protect  Lord  Selkirk's  project,  and  a  large 
number  of  Scotch  Highlanders  were,  without  opposition,  established 
on  Red  River,  the  *.ountry  about  which  received,  in  1812,  the 
name  of  Ossinohia.  For  two  years  after  the  formation  of  the  set- 
tlement, peace  was  maintained;  at  length,  ^n  January,  1814,  Miles 
Macdonnel,  the  governor  of  the  new  province,  issued  a  proclama- 
tion, in  which  he  set  forth  the  limits  of  the  region  claimed  by  his 
patron,  and  prohibited  all  persons,  under  pain  of  seizure  and 
prosecution,  from  carrying  out  of  it  "  any  provisions,  either  of  flesh, 
dried  meat,  grain,  or  vegetables,"  during  that  year.  The  attempts 
to  enforce  this  prohibition  were  resisted  by  the  North- West  traders, 
who  appeared  so  resolute  in  their  determination  not  to  yield,  that 
the  colonists  became  alalrmed,  and  quitted  the  country,  some  of 
them  returning  to  Canada,  and  others  emigrating  to  the  United 
States.  In  the  following  year.  Lord  Selkirk  again  sent  settlers  of 
various  nations  to  the  Red  River,  between  whom  and  the  North- 
West  people  hostilities  were  immediately  begun.  Posts  were  taken 
and  destroyed  on  both  sides;  and,  on  the  19th  of  June,  1816,  a 
battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  Ossinobians  were  routed,  and 
seventeen  of  their  number,  including  their  governor,  Mr.  Semple, 
were  killed.  The  country  was  then  again  abandoned  by  the 
settlers.* 

These  affairs  were  brought  before  the  British  Parliament  in  June, 


•  Lord  Sdkirk's  Sketch  of  the  British  Fur  Trade  in  J^orlh  .^merico, 'published  in 
1816,  and  the  review  of  it  in  the  London  Quarterly  Review  for  October,  1816  — 
Karrative  of  the  Occurrences  in  the  Indian  Countries  of  America,  published  by  the 
N"rtli.Wnst  Company  in  1817,  containing  all  the  document!  on  the  aubject 


[1816 

ion  of 
r,  until 
which 
of  the 
jdson's 
ileman^ 
I  grant 
tablish- 
nt  was 
d  occu- 
solutely 
trading 
the  pro- 
lowever, 
a  large 
;abli8hed 
312,  the 
the  set- 
[4,  Miles 
•roclama- 
id  by  his 
pure  and 
of  flesh, 
attempts 
t  traders, 
ield,  that 
some  of 
United 
jtllers  of 
e  North- 
sre  taken 
,  1816,  a 
ted,  and 
Semple, 
by  the 

in  June, 

published  in 
er,  1816  — 
Lhed  by  the 


1821.]     JURISDICTION   or   THE    CAHADA   COURTS    EXTENDED.  9fl6 

1819 ;  and  a  debate  ensued,  in  the  course  of  which  the  proceedings 
of  the  two  rival  associatic:!^-  '  ere  minutely  investigated.  The 
ministry  then  interposed  its  >?isuiation,  and  a  compromise  was  thus 
at  length  effected,  by  which  the  North-West  Company  became 
united  with,  or  ratlier  merged  in,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  At 
the  same  time,  and  in  connection  with  this  arrangement,  an  "  act 
for  regulating  the  fur  trade  and  establishing  a  criminal  and  civil 
jurisdiction  in  certain  parts  of  North  America"  was  passed  in 
Parliament,  containing  every  provision  required  to  give  stability  to 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  efliciency  to  its  operations. 

By  this  act,  passed  on  the  2d  of  July,  1821,  the  king  was 
authorized  to  make  grants  or  give  licenses  to  any  body  corporate, 
company,  or  person,  for  the  exclusive  privilege  of  trading  with  the 
Indians,  in  all  such  parts  of  North  America  as  mny  be  specified 
in  the  grants,  not  being  parts  of  the  territories  previously  granted 
to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  of  any  of  his  majesty's  provinces 
in  North  America,  or  any  territories  belonging  to  the  United  States 
of  America :  provided,  however,  that  no  such  grant  or  license  shall 
be  given  for  a  longer  period  t'^an  twenty-one  years ;  that  no  grant 
or  license  for  exclusive  trade,  in  the  part  of  America  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  which,  by  the  convention  of  1818  with  the  United 
States,  remained  free  and  open  to  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  both 
nations,  shall  be  used  to  the  prejudice  or  exclusion  of  citizens  of 
the  United  States  engaged  in  such  trade ;  and  that  no  British  sub- 
ject shall  trade  in  those  territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
without  such  license  or  grant.  By  the  same  act,  also,  the  courts  of 
judicature  of  Upper  Canada  are  empowered  to  take  cognizance  of 
all  causes,  civil  or  criminal,  arising  in  any  of  the  above-mentioned 
territories,  including  those  previously  granted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  and  "  other  parts  of  America,  not  within  the  limits  of 
either  of  the  provinces  of  Upper  or  Lower  Canada,  or  of  any  civil 
government  of  the  United  States ;  "  and  justices  of  the  peace  are  to 
be  commissioned  in  those  territories,  to  execute  and  enforce  the 
laws  and  the  decisions  of  the  courts,  to  take  evidence,  and  commit 
offenders  and  send  them  for  trial  to  Canada,  and  even,  under  cer- 
tain circumstances,  to  hold  courts  themselves,  for  the  trial  of  crimi- 
nal offences  and  misdemeanors  not  punishable  by  death,  and  of 
civil  causes,  in  which  the  amount  at  issue  should  not  exceed  two 
hundred  pounds.* 

*  See  the  act  and  the  grrant  here  mentioned  in  the  Froofi  and  Illuitrationi,  at  the 
end  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  I,  No.  2. 


326 


SEARCH  rOR   A   NORTH-WEST   PASSAGE   RESUMED.        [1821 


Upon  the  passage  of  this  act,  the  union  of  the  two  companies 
was  effected,  and  a  grant  was  made,  by  the  king,  to  ''  the  governor 
and  company  of  adventurers  trading  to  Hudson's  Bay,  and  to 
William  Macgillivray,  Simon  Macgillivray,  and  Edward  EUice,"  the 
persons  so  named,  representing  the  former  proprietors  of  the  North- 
West  Company,*  of  the  exclusive  trade,  for  twenty-one  years,  in  all 
the  countries  in  which  such  privileges  could  be  granted  agreeably 
to  the  act.  Persons  in  the  service  of  the  company  were,  at  the 
same  time,  commissioned  as  justices  of  the  peace  for  those  coun- 
tries; and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  Upper  Canada  was 
rendered  effective  as  far  as  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  no  exception 
being  made,  in  that  respect,  by  the  act,  with  regard  to  any  of  the 
territories  embraced  in  the  grant,  "  not  vdthin  the  limits  of  any  civil 
government  of  the  United  States." 

About  this  period,  also,  the  search  for  a  north-west  passage,  or 
navigable  communicaiion  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific, 
north  of  America,  which  had  been  so  long  suspended,  was  resumed 
by  British  officers,  under  the  auspices  of  their  government;  and 
expeditions  for  that  object  were  made  through  Baffin's  Bay,  as  well 
as  by  land,  through  the  northernmost  parts  of  the  American  conti- 
nent. The  geographical  results  of  these  expeditions  were  highly 
interesting,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  skill,  courage,  and  perse- 
verance, of  the  British  were  honorably  illustrated  by  the  labors  of 
Ross,  Parry,  Franklin,  and  their  companions.  The  west  coasts  of 
Baffin's  jday  were  carefully  surveyed,  and  many  passages  leading 
from  it  towards  the  west  and  south-west,  were  traced  to  considera- 
ble distances.  The  progress  of  the  ships  through  these  passages 
was,  however,  in  each  case,  arrested  by  ice ;  and,  although  many 
extensive  portions  of  the  northern  coast  of  the  continent  were 
explored,  and  the  Arctic  Sea,  in  their  vicinity,  was  found  free  from 
ice  during  the  short  summer,  the  question  respecting  the  existence 
of  a  northern  channel  of  communication  between  the  oceans  was 
left  unsolved.  These  voyages,  independently  of  the  value  of  their 
scientific  results,  also  proved  most  advantageous  to  the  commerce 
of  the  British  throughout  the  whole  of  their  territories  in  America, 
as  new  routes  were  opened,  and  new  regions,  abounding  in  furs, 
were  rendered  accessible. 

The  Russians  were,  in  the  mean  time,  constantly  increasing  their 

*  In  1824,  the  North- West  Company  surrendered  its  rights  and  interests  to  the 
Hudson  B  Bay  Company,  in  the  name  of  which  alone  all  the  operations  were  thence* 
forward  conducted. 


1821 

janiea 
lemor 
ad  to 
!,» the 
!»Iorth- 
,  in  all 
eeably 
at  the 

coun- 
ia  was 
ception 

of  the 
ny  civil 

sage,  or 
Pacific, 
•esumed 
[it;  and 
as  well 
n  conti- 
e  highly 
d  perae- 
ibors  of 
oasts  of 
leading 
msidera- 
Ipassages 
[h  many 
jnt  were 
•ee  from 
ixistence 
sans  was 
of  their 
>mmerce 
merica, 
in  furs, 

Ug  their 

Bsts  to  the 
kxe  thence- 


1815.] 


RUSSIAN   SETTLEMENTS   IN   CALITOBNIA. 


327 


trade  in  the  Pacific,  and,  in  addition  to  their  establishments  on  the 
northernmost  coasts  of  that  ocean,  they  had  taken  possession  of  the 
country  adjoining  Port  San  Francisco,  which  they  seemed  deter- 
mined, as  well  as  able,  to  retain.  With  this  object,  Baranof,  the 
chief  agent  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  in  1812,  obtained 
from  the  Spanish  governor  of  California  permission  to  erect  some 
houses,  and  to  leave  a  few  men  on  the  shore  of  Bodega  Bay,  a 
little  north  of  Port  San  Francisco,  where  they  were  employed  in 
hunting  the  wild  cattle,  and  drying  meat  for  the  supply  of  Sitka 
and  the  other  settlements.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three  years 
after  this  permission  was  granted,  the  number  of  persons  thus 
employed  became  so  great,  and  their  dwelling  assumed  so  much 
the  appearance  of  a  fort,  that  the  governor  thought  proper  to 
remonstrate  on  the  subject ;  and,  his  representations  being  disre- 
garded, he  formally  commanded  the  Russians  to  quit  the  territories 
of  his  Catholic  majesty.  The  command  was  treated  with  as  little 
respect  as  the  remonstrance ;  and,  upon  its  repetition,  the  Russian 
agent,  Kuskof,  coolly  denied  the  right  of  the  Spaniards  over  the 
territory,  which  he  asserted  to  be  free  and  open  for  occupation  by 
the  people  of  any  civilized  power.  The  governor  of  California 
was  unable  to  enforce  his  commands ;  and,  as  no  assistance  could 
be  afibrded  to  him  from  Mexico,  in  which  the  rebellion  was  then 
at  its  height,  the  intruders  were  left  in  possession  of  the  ground, 
where  they  remained  until  1840,  in  defiance  alike  of  Spaniards 
and  of  Mexicans. 

On  the  restoration  of  peace  in  Europe,  in  1814,  the  Russian 
American  Company  resolved  to  make  another  effort  to  establish  a 
direct  .commercial  intercourse,  by  sea,  between  its  possessions  on 
the  North  Pacific  and  the  European  ports  of  the  empire.  With  this 
object,  the  American  ship  Hannibal  was  purchased,  and,  her  name 
having  been  changed  to  Suwarrow,  she  was  despatched  from  Cron- 
sta  I,  under  Lieutenant  Lazaref,  laden  with  merchandise,  for  Sitka, 
whence  she  returned  in  the  summer  of  1815,  with  a  cargo  of  furs 
valued  at  a  million  of  dollars.  The  adventure  proving  successful, 
others  of  the  same  kind  were  made,  until  the  communications  be- 
came regular,  as  they  now  are. 

After  the  departure  of  this  vessel  from  Sitka,  Baranof  sent  about 
a  hundred  Russians  and  Aleutians,  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Schaeffer,  a  German,  who  had  been  the  surgeon  of  the  Suwarrow, 
with  the  intention,  apparently,  of  taking  possession  of  one  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands.     These  men  landed  first  at  Owyhee,  whence 


€ 


388 


KUaSIAN   8ETTLS1IJEMT9    UT   OALUTOBNU. 


[1819 


they  passed  successively  to  Woahoo  and  Atooi ;  and  in  the  latter 
island  they  remained  a  year,  committing  many  irregularities,  with- 
out, however,  effecting,  in  any  way,  the  supposed  objects  of  their 
expedition,  until  they  were  at  length  forced  to  submit  to  the  author- 
ities of  Tamahamaha,  and  to  quit  the  islands.* 

Expeditions  were  also  made  by  the  Russians  to  Bering's  Strait, 
and  the  seas  beyond  it,  for  the  purpose  of  determining  the  question 
as  to  the  separation  of  Asia  and  America,  which,  though  long  before 
supposed  to  have  been  ascertained,  was  again  rendered  doubtful  by 
some  circumstances  of  recent  occurrence.  With  this  object,  Cap- 
tain Otto  von  Kotzebue  sailed  from  Cronstadt  in  the  ship  Ruric, 
which  had  been  fitted  out  at  the  expense  of  the  ex-chancellor 
Romanzof,  and,  in  the  summer  of  1816,  penetrated  through  the 
strait  into  the  Arctic  Sea ;  but,  although  he  surveyed  the  coasts  of 
both  continents  on  that  sea  more  minutely  than  any  navigator  who 
had  preceded  him,  he  was  unable  to  advance  so  far  in  any  direction 
as  Cook  had  gone  in  1778.  In  1820,  two  other  vessels  were  sent 
to  that  part  of  the  ocean,  with  the  same  objects ;  but  no  detailed 
account  of  their  voyage  has  been  made  public.  In  the  mean  time, 
however,  the  doubts  as  to  the  separation  of  the  two  continents  were 
completely  removed,  by  Captains  Wrangel  and  Anjou,  who  sur- 
veyed the  eastern  parts  of  the  Siberian  coast  with  great  care,  in 
defiance  of  the  most  dreadful  difficulties  and  dangers.f 
h  Nor  did  the  Russians  neglect  to  impiovc  the  administration  of 
their  affairs  on  the  North  Pacific  coasts.  In  1817,  Captain  Golow- 
nin  was  despatched  from  Europe,  in  the  sloop  of  war  Kamtchatka, 
with  a  commission  from  the  emperor  to  inquire  into  the  state  of  the 
Russian  dominions  in  America ;  and,  upon  the  report  brought  back 
by  him,  it  was  resolved  that  a  radical  change  should  be  made  in  the 
management  of  those  possessions.  Accordingly,  upon  the  renewal 
of  the  charter  of  the  company  on  the  8th  of  July,  1819,  regulations 
were  put  in  execution,  by  which  the  governor  and  other  chief 
officers  of  Russian  America  became  directly  responsible  for  their 

*  For  further  particulars  on  this  subject,  the  reader  —  if  he  should  consider  the 
matter  worth  investigating — may  consult  Kotzebue 's  narrative  of  his  voyage  to  the 
Pacific,  in  1815-16,  and  Jarves'a  History  of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

i  See  the  agreeable  and  instructive  narrative,  by  Kotzebue,  of  his  voyage  in  search 
of  a  north-east  passage.  Wrangcl's  account  of  his  expedition,  which  has  been  re- 
cently published,  is  a  most  interesting  work,  not  only  from  the  multitude  of  new  facts 
in  geography,  and  in  many  of  the  physical  sciences,  which  it  communicates,  but  also 
from  the  admiration  which  it  inspires  for  the  courage,  good  temper,  and  good  feeling, 
of  the  adventurous  narrator.  Wrangel  has  since  been,  for  many  years,  the  governor 
general  of  Russian  America,  and  it  now  an  admiral  in  the  aerviee  of  hit  country. 


* 


1819.] 


OOOURRENOES    AT   THE    SANDWICH   ISLANDS. 


829 


conduct,  and  the  condition  of  all  classes  of  the  population  of  those 
countries  was  materially  benefited.  The  death  of  Baranof  ren- 
dered the  introduction  of  these  reforms  less  difficult;  and  the 
superintendence  of  the  colonies  has  ever  since  been  committed  to 
honorable  and  enlightened  men,  generally  officers  in  the  Russian 
navy,  under  whose  direction  the  abuses  formerly  prevailing  to  so 
frightful  an  extent,  have  been  gradually  removed  or  abated.'* 

About  the  same  time,  an  event  occurred,  of  great  importance  in 
the  history  of  a  country  which  is,  no  doubt,  destined  materially  to 
influence  the  political  condition  of  the  north-western  coasts  and 
regions  of  America.  Tamahamaha,  king  of  all  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  died  in  May,  1819,  at  the  age  of  sixty-three,  and  was 
succeeded  in  power  by  his  son,  or  reputed  son,  Riho  Riho,  or 
Tamahamaha  Il.f  Of  the  merits  and  demerits  of  Tamahamaha, 
it  would  be  out  of  place  here  to  speak  at  length.  He  was  a  chief 
of  note  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  islands  by  Cook,  when 
his  character  had  been  already  formed,  and  the  seeds  of  much  that 
was  evil  had  been  sown,  and  had  taken  Arm  root  in  his  mind.  No 
sooner,  however,  was  he  brought  into  contact  with  civilized  men, 
than  he  began  to  learn,  and,  what  was  more  difficult,  to  unlearn. 
His  first  objects  were  of  a  nature  purely  selfish.  He  sought  power 
to  gratify  his  ambition  and  his  thirst  for  pleasure,  but  he  used  it, 
when  obtained,  for  nobler  ends ;  and  of  all  the  sovereigns  of  the 
earth,  his  contemporaries,  no  one  certainly  attempted  or  effected  as 
much,  in  proportion  to  his  means,  for  the  advancement  of  his 
people,  as  this  barbarian  chief  of  a  little  ocean  island. 

Upon  the  death  of  Tamahamaha,  great  changes  were  effected  in 
the  affairs  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  old  king  had  resolutely 
maintained  the  religion  of  his  forefathers,  though  he  suppressed 
many  of  its  horrible  ceremonies  and  observances.  Riho  Riho,  how- 
ever, soon  after  his  accession,  abolished  that  religion,  and  embraced 
the  faith  of  the  white  men  who  came  to  his  islands  in  great  ships 
from  distant  countries.  His  principal  chiefs,  Boki  and  Krymakoo, 
(or  Kalaimaku,)  had  been  previously,  in  August,  1819,  baptized 
and  received  into  the  bosom  of  the  Roman  Catholic  church  by  the 


*  Statische  und  ethnographische  Nachrichten,  aber  die  RuBsischen  Besitzungen  an 
der  Nordweitkaite  von  Amerika —  Statistical  and  ethnographical  Notices  concerning 
the  Russian  Possessions  on  the  North- West  Coasts  of  America — by  Admiral  von 
Wrangel,  late  governor-general  of  those  countries,  published  at  St.  Petersburg, 
in  1839. 

t  These  names  are  now  generally  written  Idho  lAho  and  Kamekamaha. 

42 


330 


CHRISTIANITY   IN   THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS. 


[1819 


chaplain  of  the  French  corvette  L'Uranie,  during  her  voyage 
around  the  world  under  Captain  Freycinet ;  and,  early  in  1820,  a 
vessel  reached  the  islands  from  Boston,  bringing  a  number  of 
missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  or  Congregationalist  sects,  who 
have  been  established  there  ever  since,  and  have  exercised,  as  will 
be  heidafter  shown,  a  powerful  and  generally  beneficial  influence 
over  the  people  and  their  rulers.* 

*  The  American  miBsionoriei,  immediately  on  entering  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
began  the  atudy  of  the  language  through  which  their  inatructions  were  to  be  con- 
veyed. This  language  they  found  to  be  the  same  throughout  the  group ;  but,  as 
oonaiderable  differencea  exiated  in  ita  pronunciation  in  different  iaianda,  they  selected 
the  most  pure,  or -the  moat  generally  used,  of  the  dialects,  in  which  they  formed  a 
vocabulary,  employing  English  letters  to  represent  the  sounds,  but  wisely  confining 
each  letter  to  the  expression  of  a  fixed  sound.  The  History  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commiaaionera  for  Foreign  Missions,  which  may  be  considered  as  official  authority 
on  all  matters  connected  with  the  missions  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  contains,  at 
p.  112,  the  following  clear  and  concise  view  of  the  ayatem  of  orthography  thua 
adopted :  — 

"  The  Hawaian  [Owyheean]  alphabet  contains  twelve  letters  only.  It  haa  five 
vowela  —  a,  aounded  as  a  m  father  ;  e,  as  a  in  hate;  i,  as  ee  in  feet ;  o,  aa  o  in  pole, 
and  u,  as  oo  in  boot ;  and  seven  consonants —  /t,  k,  I,  m,  n,  p,  and  v>,  sounded  as  in 
English.  The  long  English  sound  of  i  is  repreaented  by  at,  aa  in  Lahaina,  where 
the  aecond  syllable  is  accented,  and  pronounced  like  the  English  word  high.  The 
second  syllabic,  leai,  of  Hawaii,  the  name  of  the  largest  of  the  islands,  is  pronounced 
like  the  firat  syllable  of  the  Engliah  name  tVyman  ;  and,  giving  the  lettera  the  uaual 
English  sounds,  it  might  be  spelled  Ha-wy-ee.  The  first  syllable  should  be  pro- 
nounced very  slightly,  and  a  strong  accent  placed  on  the  second.  The  sound  of  ou> 
(in  coip)  is  represented  by  au  ;  as,  Maui,  pronounced  Mme-r:.  The  natives  do  not 
distinguish  the  sounds  of  A;  and  t  from  each  other,  but  call  the  same  ialand  aometimes 
Kaui  and  Taui,  without  perceiving  the  difference.  In  the  same  way,  d,  I,  and  r,  are 
confounded,  and  the  aame  place  ia  called  indifferently  Mido,  Hilo,  or  Hiro.  The 
aame  occurs  in  respect  to  to  and  v.  In  fact,  these  interchangeable  consonants  ore 
very  slightly  and  indistinctly  uttered,  so  that  a  foreigner  is  at  a  loss  to  know  which 
the  speaker  intends  to  use." 

Agreeably  to  this  system,  the  missionaries  have  published  a  translation  of  the 
fiible,  and  many  other  books,  in  the  language  of  the  Sandwich  Islauds.  It  is,  how- 
ever, much  to  be  regretted  that  they  and  their  friends,  from  whom  nearly  all  the  in- 
formation is  now  received  respecting  that  part  of  the  world,  should  think  proper 
to  apply  their  orthography  exclusively,  not  only  to  the  names  of  places  and  per- 
sons which  have  recently  gained  notoriety,  but  likewise  to  those  with  which  every 
one  has  become  familiar  through  the  journals  of  Cook  and  Vancouver.  Names  are, 
indeed,  not  written  uniformly  in  the  journals  here  mentioned ;  but  the  differences  are 
in  general  slight,  far  less  than  between  any  one  of  the  old  names  and  that  assigned 
to  the  same  object  In  the  new  system :  and  the  best  informed  men,  vi^ho  have  not 
studied  that  system  thoroughly,  will  scarcely  be  able  to  discover  that  the  Hawaii  of 
the  missionaries  is  Owyhee;  that  Keilakakua  is  the  Karakakooa  rendered  sacred  as 
the  scene  of  Cook's  death  ;  and  that  Kaumalii  and  Kamehameha  are  no  others  than 
their  old  acquaintances,  Tamoree  and  Tamahamaha,  under  new  titles.  What  would 
be  thought  of  an  English  history  of  (Jermany,  in  which  places  and  persons  appeared 
only  under  their  German  names  —  in  which  Vienna  should  be  written  Wien;  Moravia, 
Maekren;  Bohemia,  Boehmen;  Francis,  Franz;  Charles,  Karl;  &c. .' 


mii 


'...•f 


331  .vmift:^-    .',^44f-,i»: 


■*■"* ,. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

1820  TO  1828. 


a 


Bill  reported  by  a  Committee  of  the  Hotiae  of  Repreientatiyei  of  the  United  Statee, 
for  the  Occupation  of  the  Columbia  River — Ukaae  of  the  Eroperor  of  Ruuia,  with 
Regard  to  the  North  Pacific  Coasta — Negotiations  between  the  Governmenta  of  Great 
Britain,  Ruaaia,  and  the  United  States — Conventions  between  the  United  States 
and  Russia,  and  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia  —  Further  Negotiations  between 
the  United  SUtes  and  Great  Britain  relative  to  the  North- West  Coasts  —  Indefinite 
Extension  of  the  Arrangement  for  the  joint  Occupancy  of  the  Territories  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  the  British  and  the  Americans. 

Before  1820,  little,  if  any  thing,  relative  to  the  countries  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains  had  been  said  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States ;  and  those  countries  had  excited  very  little  interest  among 
the  citizens  of  the  federal  republic  in  general. 

In  December  of  that  year,  however,  immediately  after  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  Florida  treaty  by  Spain,  a  resolution  was  passed  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  Congress,  on  the  motion  of  Mr.  Floyd, 
of  Virginia  —  '*  that  an  inquiry  should  be  made,  as  to  the  situation 
of  the  settlements  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  as  to  the  expediency 
of  occupying  the  Columbia  River."  The  committee  to  which  this 
resoluti  was  referred,  presented,  in  January  following,  a  long 
report,  containing  a  sketch  of  the  history  of  colonization  in  Amer- 
ica, with  an  account  of  the  fur  trade  in  the  northern  and  north- 
western sections  of  the  continent,  and  a  description  of  the  country 
claimed  by  the  United  States ;  from  all  which  are  drawn  the  con- 
clusions, —  that  the  whole  territory  of  America  bordering  upon  the 
Pacific,  from  the  41st  degree  of  latitude  to  the  53d,  if  not  to  the 
60th,  belongs  of  right  to  the  United  States,  in  virtue  of  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana  from  France,  in  1803,  of  the  acquisition  of  the  titles  of 
Spain  by  the  Florida  treaty,  and  of  the  discoveries  and  settlements 
of  American  citizens ;  —  that  the  trade  of  this  territory  in  furs  and 
other  articles,  and  the  fisheries  on  its  coasts,  might  be  rendered 
highly  productive ;  and  —  that  these  advantages  might  be  secured 
to  citizens  of  the  United  States  exclusively,  by  establishing  '<  small 
trading  guards"  on  the  most  north-eastern  point  of  the  Missouri, 


339 


RV8SIAK   VKA8B. 


[1829. 


and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  by  favoring  emigration  to 
the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  not  only  from  the 
United  States,  but  also  from  China.  To  this  report  the  com- 
mittee appended  "  a  bill  for  the  occupation  of  the  Columbia,  and 
the  regulation  of  the  trade  with  the  Indians  in  the  territories  of 
the  United  States."  Without  making  any  remarks  upon  the  char- 
acter of  this  report,  it  may  be  observed,  that  the  terms  of  the  bill 
are  directly  at  variance  with  the  provisions  of  the  third  article  of  the 
convention  of  October,  1818,  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain ;  as  the  Columbia  could  not  possibly  be  frtt  and  open  to  the 
vesselt,  citizens,  and  subjects,  of  both  nations,  if  it  were  occupied  by 
cither.  The  Bill  was  suffered  to  lie  on  the  table  of  the  House  during 
the  remainder  of  the  session :  in  the  ensuing  year,  it  was  again 
brought  before  Congress,  and  an  estimate  was  obtained,  from  the 
navy  comr.iissioners,  of  the  expense  of  transporting  cannon,  ammu- 
nition, and  stores,  by  sea,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia ;  but  no 
further  notice  was  taken  of  the  subject  until  the  winter  of  1823. 

Measures  had,  in  the  mean  time,  been  adopted  by  the  Russian 
government,  with  regard  to  the  north-west  coasts  of  America,  which 
strongly  excited  the  attention  of  both  the  other  powers  claiming 
dominion  in  that  quarter. 

Soon  after  the  renewal  of  the  charter  of  the  Russian  American 
Com|)any,  a  ukase,  or  imperial  decree,  was  issued  at  St.  Petersburg, 
by  which  the  whole  west  coast  of  America,  north  of  the  Slst  par- 
allel, and  the  whole  east  coast  of  Asia,  north  of  the  latitude  of  45 
degrees  50  minutes,  with  all  the  adjacent  and  intervening  islands, 
were  declared  to  belong  exclusively  to  Russia ;  and  foreigners  were 
prohibited,  under  heavy  penalties,  from  approaching  within  a 
hundred  miles  of  any  of  those  coasts,  except  in  cases  of  extreme 
necessity.* 

This  decree  was  officially  communicated  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States  in  February,  1822,  by  the  Chevalier  de  Poletica, 
Russian  minister  at  Washington,  between  whom  and  Mr.  J.  Q 
Adams,  the  American  secretary  of  state,  a  correspondence  imme- 
diately took  place  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  first  note, 
simply  made  known  the  surprise  of  the  president  at  the  assertion 
of  a  claim,  on  the  part  of  Russia,  to  so  large  a  portion  of  the  west 


*  The  ukaae,  dated  September  4th,  1821,  and  the  correspondence  between  the 
Russian  and  American  governments  with  regard  to  it,  may  be  found  at  length  among 
the  documenta  accompanying  President  Monroe's  message  to  Congress,  of  April 
17th,  1839. 


sau 
sia 
hav 


18S2.] 


DISCUSSION   or   THC   RUSSIAN   CLAIMS. 


388 


WBtfl  of  America,  and  at  the  promulgation,  by  that  power,  of  rules 
of  restriction  so  deeply  affecting  the  rights  of  the  United  States 
and  their  citizens ;  and  he  desired  to  know  whether  the  minister 
was  authorized  to  give  explanations  of  the  grounds  of  the  right 
claimed,  upon  principles  generally  recognized  by  the  laws  and 
usages  of  nations. 

To  this  M.  Poletica  replied  by  a  long  letter,  containing  a  sketch  — 
generally  erroneous  —  of  the  discoveries  of  his  countrymen  on  the 
north-west  coasts  of  America,  which  extended,  according  to  his 
idea,  southward  as  far  as  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude.  He  de- 
fended the  assumption  of  the  51st  parallel  as  the  southern  li'uit  of 
the  possessions  of  his  sovereign,  upon  the  ground  that  this  line  was 
midway  between  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States  had  made  an  establishment,  and  the  Russian 
settlement  of  Sitka ;  and  he  finally  maintained  that  his  government 
would  be  justifiable  in  exercising  the  rights  of  sovereignty  over  the 
^whole  of  the  Pacific  north  of  the  said  parallel,  inasmuch  as  that  sec- 
tion of  the  sea  was  bounded  on  both  sides  by  Russian  territories,  and 
was  thus,  in  fact,  a  close  sea.  The  secretary  of  state,  in  return, 
asserted  that,  « from  the  period  of  the  existence  of  the  United 
States  as  an  independent  nation,  their  vessels  had  freely  navigated 
those  seas ;  and  the  right  to  navigate  them  was  a  part  of  that  inde- 
pendence, as  also  the  right  of  their  citizens  to  trade,  even  in  arms 
and  munitions  of  war,  with  the  aboriginal  natives  of  the  north- 
west coast  of  America,  who  were  not  under  the  territorial  jurisdic- 
tion of  other  nations."  He  denied  in  toto  the  claim  of  the  Russians 
to  any  part  of  America  south  of  the  55th  degree  of  latitude,  on 
the  ground  that  this  parallel  was  declared,  in  the  charter  *  of  the 
Russian  American  Company,  to  be  the  southern  limit  of  the  dis- 

*  The  first  article  of  the  charter  or  privilege  granted  by  the  emperor  Paul  to  the 
Russian  American  Company,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1799,  is  as  follows :  — 

"In  virtue  of  the  discovery,  by  Russian  navigators,  of  a  part  of  the  coast  of 
America  in  the  north-east,  beginning  from  the  55th  degree  of  latitude,  and  of 
chains  of  islands  extending  from  Kamtchatka,  northward  towards  America,  and 
southward  towards  Japan,  Russia  has  acquired  the  right  of  possessing  those  lands ; 
and  the  said  company  is  authorized  to  enjoy  all  the  advantages  of  industry,  and  all 
the  establishments,  upon  the  said  coast  of  America,  in  the  north-east,  from  the  55th 
degree  of  latitude  to  Bering's  Strait,  and  beyond  it,  as  also  upon  the  Aleutian  and 
Kurile  Islands,  and  the  others,  situated  in  the  eastern  Arctic  Ocean." 

By  the  second  article,  —  ' 

"  The  company  may  make  new  discoveries,  not  only  north,  but  also  south,  of  the 
said  55th  parallel  of  latitude,  and  may  occupy  and  bring  under  the  dominion  of  Rus- 
sia all  territories  thus  discovered,  observing  the  rule,  that  such  territories  should  not 
have  been  previously  occupied  and  placed  under  subjection  by  another  nation." 


334 


BmATAQAirr   PIllTBHIIONf   OT   BUMIA. 


[1899. 


coveriea  of  the  Runiani  in  1799 ;  oince  which  period  they  had  mode 
no  diacoveriei  or  eitabliihments  south  of  the  aaid  line,  on  the 
coast  now  claimed  by  them.  With  regard  to  the  suggestion  that 
the  Russian  government  might  justly  exercise  sovereignty  over  the 
Pacific  Ocean  a<  o  cloie  sea,  because  it  claims  territories  both  on 
the  Asiatic  and  the  American  shores,  Mr.  Adams  merely  observed, 
that  the  distance  between  those  shores,  on  the  parallel  of  51  degrees 
north,  is  four  thousand  mik» ;  and  he  concluded  by  expressing  the 
persuasion  of  the  president  that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
would  remain  unmolested  in  the  prosecution  of  their  lawful  com- 
merce, and  that  no  eflfect  would  be  given  to  a  prohibition  manifestly 
incompatible  With  their  rights. 

The  Russian  minister  plenipotentiary,  a  few  days  after  the  receipt 
of  Mr.  Adams's  last  communication,  sent  another  note,  supporting 
the  rights  of  his  sovereign,  in  which  he  advanced  "  the  authentic 
fact,  that,  in  1789,  the  Spanish  packet  St.  Charles,  commanded  by 
Captain  Haro,  found,  in  the  latitude  of  forty-eight  and  forty-nine 
degrees,  Russian  establishments,  to  the  number  of  eight,  consisting, 
in  the  whole,  of  twenty  families,  and  four  hundred  and  sixty-two 
individuals,  who  were  the  descendants  of  the  companions  of  Cap- 
tain Tchirikof,  supposed  until  then  to  have  perished."  Respecting 
this  **  authentic  fact,"  it  has  been  shown,  in  the  account  i*  already 
given  of  the  Spanish  voyage  to  which  the  Chevalier  Poletica  refers, 
that  Martinez  and  Haro  did  find  eight  Russian  establishments  on 
the  North  Pacific  coast  of  America  in  1788,  but  that  they  were  all 
situated  in  the  latitudes  oi  fifty-eight  and  fifty-nine  degrees,  and  that 
the  persons  inhabiting  them  had  all  been,  a  short  time  previous, 
transported  thither,  from  Kamtchatka  and  the  Aleutian  Islands,  by 
Schelikof,  the  founder  of  the  Russian  American  Company.  The 
minister  doubtless  derived  his  information  from  the  introduction  to 
the  journal  of  Marchand's  voyage ;  but  he  neglected  to  read  the  note 
appended  to  that  account,  in  which  the  error  is  explained. 

The  prohibitory  regulation  of  the  Russian  emperor,  and  the 
correspondence  relating  to  it,  were  immediately  submitted  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States ;  and,  in  the  ensuing  year,  a  nego- 
tiation was  commenced  at  St.  Petersburg,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  settle  amicably  and  definitively  the  limits  of  the  territories  on 
the  north-west  side  of  America,  claimed  by  the  two  nations  re- 
spectively, and  the  terms  upon  which  their  navigation  and  trade  in 
the  North  Pacific  were  in  future  to  be  conducted.     A  negotiation, 


See  p.  186. 


1893.] 


OE0L4RATI0N    OF    PRBBIDEITr   MOimOC 


335 


the 

the 

lego- 

was 

a  on 

s  re- 

le  in 

,tion, 


for  similar  purposes,  was,  at  the  same  time,  in  progress  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, between  the  governments  of  Russia  and  Qreat  Britain  ;  the 
latter  power  having  formally  protested  against  the  claims  and  princi- 
ples advanced  in  the  ukase  of  1821,  immediately  on  its  appearance, 
and  subsequently,  during  the  session  of  the  congress  of  European 
sovereigns  at  Verona.*  Under  these  circumstances,  a  desire  was 
felt,  on  the  part  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  that  a  joint 
convention  should  be  concluded  between  the  three  nations  having 
claims  to  territories  on  the  north-west  side  of  America;  and  the 
envoys  of  the  republic  at  London  and  St.  Petersburg  were  severally 
instructed  to  propose  a  stipulation  to  the  eflect  that  no  settlement 
should,  during  the  next  ten  years,  be  made,  in  those  territories,  by 
Russians  south  of  the  latitude  of  55  degrees,  by  citizens  of  the 
United  States  north  of  the  latitude  of  51  degrees,  or  by  British 
subjects  south  of  the  51st  or  north  of  the  55th  parallels. 

This  proposition  for  a  joint  convention  was  not  accepted  by 
either  of  the  governments  to  which  it  was  addressed ;  the  principal 
ground  of  the  refusal  by  each  being  the  declaration  made  by  Presi- 
dent Monroe  in  his  message  to  Congress,  at  the  commencement  of 
the  session  of  1823,  that  —  in  the  discussions  and  arrangements  then 
going  on  with  respect  to  the  north-west  coasts  —  "  the  occasion  had 
been  judged  proper  for  asserting,  as  a  principle  in  which  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  United  States  are  involved,  that  the  American 
continents,  by  the  free  and  independent  condition  which  they  have 
assumed  and  maintain,  are  henceforth  not  to  be  considered  as  subjects 
for  colonization  by  any  European  potoer"  f    Against  this  declaration, 

*  Debate  in  Parliament  on  the  inquiry  made  by  Sir  James  MackintoBh  on  this 
subject,  May  21, 1823. 

t  The  message  of  December  2d,  1823,  containing  this  declaration,  also  announced 
the  resolution  of  the  United  States  to  view  "  as  the  manifestation  of  an  unfriendly 
disposition"  towards  themselves  any  attempt,  on  the  part  of  a  European  powes,  to 
oppress  or  control  the  destiny  of  any  of  the  independent  states  of  America.  This 
noble  resolution  was  taken  upon  thp  assurance  that  the  United  States  would,  if  ne- 
cessary, b«  sustained  in  enforcinr  t  by  Great  Britain,  without  whose  cooperation  it 
would  have  been  ineffective,  o  itainly  as  to  the  prevention  of  the  attempts.  The 
circumstances  which  induced  the  American  government  thus,  at  the  same  time, 
openly  to  offer  a  blow  at  the  only  nation  on  whose  assistance  it  could  depend,  in  case 
the  anticipated  attempts  should  be  made  by  the  despotic  powers  of  Europe,  have  not 
been  disclosed.  That  it  is  the  true  policy  of  the  United  States,  by  all  lawful  means, 
to  resist  the  extension  of  European  dominion  in  America,  and  to  confine  its  limits, 
and  abridge  its  duration,  wherever  it  may  actually  exist,  is  a  proposition  which  no 
arguments  are  required  to  demonstrate,  either  to  American  citizens  or  to  European 
sovereigns ;  but  this  proclamation,  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  of  its 
intention  to  pursue  those  ends,  could  have  no  other  effect  than  to  delay  the  attainment 
of  them,  as  it  has  evidently  done. 


336 


BECOKMENDATIONS    OF    GENERAL   JE8UP. 


[1823. 


which  —  however  just  and  politic  might  have  been  the  principle 
announced — was  unquestionably  imprudent,  or  at  least  premature, 
the  British  and  the  Russian  governments  severally  protested ;  and 
as  there  were  many  other  points  on  which  it  was  not  probable  that 
the  three  powers  could  agree,  it  was  determined  that  the  negotia- 
tions should  be  continued,  as  they  had  been  commenced,  separately 
at  London  and  at  St.  Petersburg. 

Another  publication,  equally  impolitic  on  the  part  of  the  Ameri- 
can government,  soon  after  contributed  to  render  more  difficult  the 
settlement  of  the  question  of  boundaries  on  the  Pacific  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

A  select  committee,  appointed  by  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States,  in  December,  1823,  with  instructions  to  inquire 
into  the  expediency  of  occupying  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
requested  General  Thomas  S.  Jesup,  the  quartermaster-general  of  the 
army,  to  communicate  his  opinions  respecting  the  propriety  of  the 
measure  proposed,  as  well  as  its  practicability  and  the  best  method 
of  executing  it ;  in  answer  to  which  that  officer  sent,  on  the  16th 
of  February,  1824,  a  letter  containing  an  exposition  of  his  views  of 
the  true  policy  of  the  United  States  with  regard  to  the  north-west 
coasts  and  territories  of  America,  and  of  the  means  by  which  they 
might  be  carried  into  effect.  Leaving  aside  the  question  as  to  the 
rights  of  the  United  States,  he  considered  the  possession  and  military 
command  of  the  Columbia  and  of  the  Upper  Missouri  necessary  for 
the  protection,  not  only  of  the  fur  trade,  but  also  of  the  whole 
western  frontier  of  the  republic,  which  is  every  where  in  contact 
with  numerous,  powerful,  and  warlike  tribes  of  savages :  v.nd,  for 
this  purpose,  he  recommended  the  immediate  despatch  of  two 
hundred  men  across  the  continent  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
while  two  merchant  vessels  should  transport  thither  the  cannon, 
ammunition,  materials,  and  stores,  requisite  for  the  first  establish- 
ment ;  after  which,  four  or  five  intermediate  posts  should  be  formed 
at  points  between  Council  Bluffs,  on  the  Missouri,  (the  most  western 
spot  then  occupied  by  American  troops,)  and  the  Pacific.  By  such 
means,  says  the  letter,  "  present  protection  would  be  afforded  to 
our  traders,  and,  on  the  expiration  of  the  privilege  granted  to 
British  subjects  to  trade  on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia,  we  should 
be  enabled  to  remove  them  from  our  territory,  and  to  secure  the 
whole  trade  to  our  own  citizens." 

The  report  of  the  committee,  with  the  letter  from  General  Jesup 
annexed,  was  ordered  to  lie  on  the  table  of  the  House,  and  nothing 


1823. 

nciple 
kature, 
;  and 
le  that 
egotia- 
arately 

Ameri- 
:ult  the 
een  the 

ntatives 
inquue 
)lumbia, 
alofthe 
;y  of  the 
method 
the  16th 
views  <if 
jrth-west 
lich  they 
I  as  to  the 
1  military 
jssary  for 
le  whole 
n  contact 
t.nd,  for 
1  of  two 
Columbia, 
cannon, 
establish- 
»e  formed 
it  western 
By  such 
Forded  to 
•anted   to 
ve  should 
Bcure  the 

;ral  Jesup 
d  nothing 


1824.] 


NEGOTIATION   AT   LONDON. 


337 


more  was  done  on  the  subject  during  that  session ;  the  papers, 
however,  were  both  published,  and  they  immediately  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  British  ministry.  In  a  conference  held  at  London, 
in  July  following,  between  the  American  envoy,  Mr.  Rush,  and  the 
British  commissioners,  Messrs.  Huskisson  and  Stratford  Canning, 
the  latter  gentlemen  commented  upon  the  observations  of  General 
Jesup,  particularly  upon  those  respecting  the  removal  of  British 
traders  from  the  territories  of  the  Columbia,  which,  they  said,  "  were 
calculated  to  put  Great  Britain  especially  upon  her  guard,  appear- 
ing, as  they  did,  at  a  moment  when  a  friendly  negotiation  was 
pending  between  the  two  powers  for  the  adjustment  of  their  relative 
and  conflicting  claims  to  that  entire  district  of  country." 

It  is  moreover  certain,  from  the  accounts  of  Mr.  Rush,  as  well  as 
from  those  given  subsequently  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  that  the  publication 
of  General  Jesup's  letter,  and  the  declaration  in  President  Monroe's 
message  against  the  establishment  of  European  colonies  in  America, 
rendered  the  British  government  much  less  disposed  to  any  con- 
cession, with  regard  to  the  north-west  territories,  than  it  would 
otherwise  have  been;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe,  from  many 
circumstances,  that  they  tended  materially  to  produce  a  union  of 
views,  approaching  to  a  league,  between  that  power  and  Russia, 
which  has  proved  very  disadvantageous  to  the  interests  of  the 
United  States  on  the  North  Pacific  coasts. 

The  negotiation  respecting  the  north-west  coasts  of  America, 
commenced  at  London  in  April,  1824,  was  not  long  continued; 
the  parties  being  so  entirely  at  variance  with  regard  to  facts  as  well 
as  principles,  that  the  impossibility  of  effecting  any  new  arrange- 
ment soon  became  evident.  Mr.  Rush,*  the  American  plenipoten- 
tiary, began  by  claiming  for  the  United  States  the  exclusive  pos- 
session and  sovereignty  of  the  whole  country  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  from  the  42d  degree  of  latitude,  at  ieast  as  far  north 
as  the  51st,  between  which  parallels  all  the  waters  of  the  Columbia 
were  then  supposed  to  be  included.  In  support  of  this  claim,  he 
cited,  as  in  1818,  the  facts  —  of  the  first  discovery  of  the  Columbia 
by  Gray — of  the  first  exploration  of  that  river  from  its  sources  to  the 
sea  by  Lewis  and  Clarke  —  of  the  first  settlement  on  its  banks  by 
the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  "a  settlement  which  was  reduced  by 
the  arms  of  the  British  during  the  late  war,  but  was  formally  sur- 

*  Letter  ftom  Mr.  Rush  to  the  secretary  of  state,  of  August  12th,  1824,  among  the 
documents  accompanying  President  Adams's  message  to  Congress  of  January  31st, 

43 


■;M 


338  CLAIMS    OF    THE    0.    STATES    AND    OT    GREAT   BRITAIN.    [1824. 

rendered  up  to  the  United  States  at  the  return  of  peace,"  and  —of 
the  transfer  by  Spain  to  the  United  States  of  all  her  titles  to  those 
territories,  founded  upon  the  well-known  discoveries  of  her  navi- 
gators ;  and  he  insisted,  agreeably  to  express  instructions  from  his 
government,  <'  that  no  part  of  the  American  continent  was  thence- 
forth to  be  open  to  colonization  from  Europe."  In  explanation  and 
defence  of  this  declaration,  Mr.  Rush  "  referred  to  the  principles 
settled  by  the  Nootka  Sound  convention  of  1790,  and  remarked, 
that  Spain  had  now  lost  all  her  exclusive  colonial  rights,  recognized 
under  that  convention :  first,  by  the  fact  of  the  independence  of  the 
South  American  states  and  of  Mexico ;  and  next,  by  her  express 
renunciation  of  all  her  rights,  of  whatever  kind,  above  the  42d 
degree  of  north  latitude,  to  the  United  States.  Those  new  states 
would  themselves  now  possess  the  rights  incident  to  their  condition 
of  political  independence;  and  the  claims  of  the  United  States 
above  the  42d  parallel  as  high  up  as  60  degrees — claims  as  well 
in  their  own  right  as  by  succession  to  the  title  of  Spain  —  would 
henceforth  necessarily  preclude  other  nations  from  forming  colonial 
establishments  upon  any  part  of  the  American  continents." 

Messrs.  Huskisson  and  Canning,  in  reply,  denied  that  ^he 
circumstance  of  a  merchant  vessel  of  the  United  States  having 
penetrated  the  north-west  coast  of  America  at  the  Columbia  River, 
could  give  to  the  United  States  a  claim  along  that  coast,  both 
north  and  south  of  the  river,  over  territories  which,  they  insisted, 
had  been  previously  discovered  by  Great  Britain  herself,  in  expe- 
ditions fitted  out  under  the  authority  and  with  the  resources  of  the 
nation.  They  declared  that  British  subjects  had  formed  settle- 
ments upon  the  Columbia,  or  upon  rivers  flowing  into  it  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  coe  al  with,  if  not  prior  to,  the  settlement 
made  by  American  citizens  at  its  mouth ;  and  that  the  surrender  of 
that  settlement  after  the  late  war  was  in  fulfilment  of  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  and  did  not  affect  the  question  of  right  in  any  way.  They 
treated  as  false  or  doubtful  the  accounts  of  many  of  the  Spanish 
voyages  in  the  Pacific ;  alleging,  as  more  authentic,  the  narrative 
of  Drake's  expedition,  from  which  it  appeared  that  he  had,  in 
1579,  explored  the  west  coast  of  America  to  the  48th  parallel  of 
latitude,  five  or  six  degrees  farther  north  than  the  Spaniards  them- 
selves pretended  to  have  advanced  before  that  period :  and  they 
refused  to  admit  that  any  title  could  be  derived  from  the  mere  fact 
of  Spanish  navigators  having  first  seen  the  coast  at  particular  spots, 
even  when  this  was  capable  of  being  fully  substantiated.     Finally, 


1824. 


1824.] 


PROPOSITIONS    FOR   PARTITIOIT. 


389 


i-of 

>  those 

r  navi- 

)m  his 

hence- 

on  and 

nciples 

narked, 

jgnized 

3  of  the 

express 

he  42d 

w  states 

ondition 

I  States 

s  as  well 

—  would 

colonial 
-     W 

that    ihe 

s  having 

»ia  River, 

ast,  both 
insisted, 

in  expe- 

;es  of  the 

;d  settle- 
west  of 

ettlement 
■ender  of 
treaty  of 
They 
Spanish 
narrative 
had,  in 
arallel  of 
rds  them- 
and  they 
mere  fact 
liar  spots, 
Finally, 


they  assured  Mr.  Rush  that  their  government  would  ruver  aisent  to 
the  claim  set  forth  by  him  respecting  the  territory  watered  by  the 
Columbia  River  and  its  tributaries,  which,  besides  being  esientially 
objectionable  in  its  general  bearings,  had  also  the  etlbct  of  inter- 
fering directly  with  the  actual  rights  of  Great  Britain,  derived  from 
use,  occupancy,  and  settlement ;  asserting,  at  the  same  time,  that 
"they  considered  the  unoccupied  parts  of  America  just  as  much 
open  as  heretofore  to  colonization  by  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  by 
other  European  powers,  agreeably  to  the  convention  of  1790, 
between  the  British  and  Spanish  governments,  and  that  the  United 
States  would  have  no  right  to  take  umbrage  at  the  establishment 
of  new  colonies  from  Europe,  in  any  such  parts  of  the  American 
continent."*  < 

After  much  discussion  on  these  points,  Mr.  Rush  presented  a 
proposal  from  his  government,  that  any  country  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  which  might  be  claimed  by  th<;  United  States,  or  by 
Great  Britain,  should  be  free  and  open  to  the  citizens  or  subjects 
of  both  nations  for  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  agreement: 
Provided,  that,  during  this  period,  no  settlements  were  to  be  made 
by  British  subjects  north  of  the  55th  or  south  of  the  5l8t  degrees 
of  latitude,  nor  by  American  citizens  north  of  the  latter  parallel. 
To  this  proposal,  which  Mr.  Rush  afterwards  varied  by  substituting 
the  49th  parallel  of  latitude  for  the  51st,  Messrs.  Iluskisson  and 
Canning  replied  by  a  counter  proposal,  to  the  effect,  that  the 
boundary  between  the  territories  of  the  two  nations,  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  should  pass  from  those  mountaino  v  )b«  vard 
along  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  north-easternmost  l>r  u  nch 
of  the  Columbia  River,  called  Macgillivray's  River  o:i  the  hfips, 
and  thence  down  the  middle  of  the  stream,  to  the  Pacific;  ile 
British  possessing  the  country  north  and  west  of  such  line,  pnd  the 
United  States  that  which  lay  south  and  east  of  it :  Pm'^ded,  that 
the  subjects  or  citizens  of  both  nations  should  he  equally  at  liberty, 
during  the  space  of  ten  years  from  the  date  of  ♦ho  agreement,  to 
pass  by  land  or  by  water  through  all  the  territories  on  both  sides  of 
the  boundary,  and  to  retain  and  use  their  establishntunts  already 
formed  in  any  part  of  them.  The  British  plenipotentiaries  at  the 
same  time  declared  that  this  their  proposal  was  one  from  which 

*  Protocol  of  the  twelfth  conference  between  the  plenipotentiariei,  held  June  86th, 
1824,  among  the  documents  annexed  to  President  Adams's  message  to  Congress  of 
January  Slst,  1826. 


m 


340 


PROPOSITIONS    FOR   PARTITION. 


[1824. 


Great  Britain  would  certainly  not  depart ;  and,  as  all  prospect  of 
compromise  was  thus  destroyed,  the  negotiation  ended. 

In  this  discussion  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
upon  the  subject  of  their  respective  claims  to  the  sovereignty  of 
the  countries  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  grounds  of  those 
claims  were  first  made  to  assume  a  form  somtwhat  definite ;  and 
this  may  be  considered  as  principally  due  to  the  labor  and  pene- 
tration of  Mr.  Rush,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  first  to  inquire 
carefully  into  the  facts  of  the  case.  The  introduction  by  him  of  the 
Nootka  convention,  as  an  element  in  the  controversy,  was  according 
to  express  instructions  from  his  government.*  It  appears  to  have 
been  wholly  unnecessary,  and  was  certainly  impolitic.  No  allusion 
had  been  made  to  that  arrangement  in  any  of  the  previous  discus- 
sions with  regard  to  the  north-west  coasts,  and  it  was  doubtless 
considered  extinct ;  but  when  it  was  thus  brought  forward  by  the 
American  government  in  connection  with  the  declaration  against 
European  colonization,  as  a  settlement  of  general  principles  with 
regard  to  those  coasts,  an  argument  was  aflbrded  in  favor  of  the 
subsistence  of  the  convention,  of  which  the  British  government  did 
not  fail  to  take  advantage,  as  will  be  hereafter  shown. 


*  "  The  principles  settled  by  the  Nootka  Sound  convention  of  28th  October,  1790, 
were  — 

"  *  1st.  That  the  rights  of  fishing  in  the  South  Seas ;  of  trading  with  the  natives  of 
the  north-west  coast  of  America ;  and  of  making  settlements  on  the  coast  itself,  for 
the  purposes  of  that  trade,  north  of  the  actual  settlements  of  Spain,  were  common  to 
all  the  European  nations,  and,  of  course,  to  the  United  States. 

" '  2d.  That,  so  far  as  the  actual  settlements  of  Spain  had  extended,  she  possessed 
the  exclusive  rights  territorial,  and  of  navigation  an'I  fishery ;  extending  to  the  dis- 
tance of  ten  miles  from  the  coast  so  actually  occupied. 

" '  3d.  That,  on  the  coasts  of  South  America,  and  the  adjacent  islands  south  of  the 
parts  already  occupied  by  Spain,  no  settlement  should  thereailer  be  made  either  by 
British  or  Spanish  subjects ;  but,  on  both  sidos,  should  be  retained  the  liberty  of  land- 
ing and  of  erecting  temporary  buildings  for  the  purposes  of  the  fishery.  These  rights 
were,  also,  of  course,  enjoyed  by  the  people  of  the  United  Stales. 

" '  The  exclusive  rights  of  Spain  to  any  part  of  the  American  continents  have 
ceased.  That  portion  of  the  convention,  therefore,  which  recognizes  the  exclusive 
colonial  rights  of  Spain  on  these  continents,  though  confirmed,  as  between  Great 
Britain  and  Spain,  by  the  first  additional  article  to  the  treaty  of  the  5th  of  July,  1814, 
has  been  extinguished  by  the  fact  of  the  independence  of  the  South  American  nations 
and  of  Mexico.  Those  independent  nations  will  possess  the  rights  incident  to  that 
condition,  and  their  territories  will,  of  course,  be  subject  to  no  exclusive  right  of  nav- 
igation in  their  vicinity,  or  of  access  to  them,  by  any  foreign  nation. 

" «  A  necessary  consequence  of  this  state  of  things  will  be,  thiit  the  American  con- 
tinents, henceforth,  will  no  longer  be  subject  to  colonization.  Occupied  "by  civilized, 
independent  nations,  they  will  be  accessible  to  Europeans,  and  each  other,  on  that 


r 
s 
ti 
n 
fi 
a 
a 
w 
ic 
ai 


1824.]    CONVENTION   BETWEEN  THE   U.    STATES    AND   RUSSIA.  341 

In  the  mean  time,  the  negotiation  between  the  United  States  and 
Russia  was  terminated  by  a  convention,  signed  at  St.  Petersburg, 
on  the  5th  of  April,  1824,  containing  five  articles:  by  the  first  of 
which,  it  is  agreed  that  the  respective  citizens  or  subjects  of  the 
two  nations  shall  not  be  disturbed  or  restrained  in  navigating  or  in 
fishing  in  any  part  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  in  the  power  of  resort- 
ing to  the  coasts  upon  points  which  may  not  already  have  been 
occupied,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the  natives;  saving, 
always,  the  restrictions  and  conditions  determined  by  the  following 
articles,  to  wit:  by  the  second  article,  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  shall  not  resort  to  any  point  on  the  north-west  coasts  of 
America,  where  there  is  a  Russian  establishment,  without  the 
permission  of  the  governor  or  commandant  of  the  place,  and  vice 
versa:  by  the  third  article,  neither  the  United  States  nor  their 
citizens  shall,  in  future,  form  any  establishment  on  those  coasts,  or 
the  adjacent  islands,  north  of  the  latitude  of  54  degrees  40  minutes, 
and  the  Russians  shall  make  none  south  of  that  latitude.  "  It  is, 
nevertheless,  understood,"  says  the  fourth  article,  "  that  during  a 
term  of  ten  years,  counting  from  the  signature  of  the  present  con- 
vention, the  ships  of  both  powers,  or  which  belong  to  their  citizens 
or  subjects  respectively,  may  reciprocally  frequent,  without  any 
hinderance  whatever,  the  interior  seas,  gulfs,  harbors,  and  creeks, 
upon  the  coast  mentioned  in  the  preceding  article,  for  the  purpose 


lerican  con- 
ly  civilized, 
ler,  on  thtt 


footing  alone;  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  in  every  part  of  it,  will  remain  open  to  the 
navigation  of  all  nations,  in  like  manner  with  the  Atlantic'  "  —  Instructions  of  the 
Hon.  J.  Q.  Adams,  secretary  of  state  of  the  United  States,  to  M'.  Rush,  dated  July 
22d,  1823,  among  the  document?  accompanying  President  Adams's  message  to  Con- 
gress of  January  31st,  1826. 

With  regard  to  the  portion  of  these  instructions  here  extracted,  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  the  convention  of  M'^O  itself,  and  to  the  remarks  on  it  in  pp,  213,  25?,  and 
318,  of  this  History,  from  \«iiich  it  will  be  seen  that  the  convention,  in  all  its  stipula- 
tions, was  simply  an  international  agreement  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain,  bind- 
ing them  and  their  subjects  only  until  its  expiration,  which  took  place,  in  consequence 
of  the  war,  in  17116,  and  applying  in  no  respect,  either  as  to  adv.-^ntages  or  restrictions, 
to  any  other  nation  whatsoever ;  and  that,  consequently,  other  nations  had  the  same 
right  to  occupy  the  vacant  coasts  of  America,  and  to  navigate  and  fish  in  the  adjacent 
seas,  within  ten  leagues,  (the  distance  defined  by  the  convention,)  and  even  within 
ten  miies,  of  the  parts  occupied  by  Spain,  after,  as  before,  the  signature  of  that  agree- 
ment; and  Spain  had  as  much  right,  afler,  as  before,  that  event,  to  prohibit  them 
from  so  doing.  If  the  Nootka  convention  were,  as  asserted  by  the  secretary  of  state, 
a  definitive  settlement  of  general  principles  of  national  law  respecting  navigation 
and  fishery  in  the  seas,  and  trade  and  settlement  on  the  coasts,  here  mentioned,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  resist  tlie  pretensions  of  the  British  plenipotentiaries  with  regard 
to  the  territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  set  forth  in  the  statement  (Proofs 
and  Illustrations,  letter  H)  presented  by  them  to  Mr.  Gallatin  in  1826. 


m 


342 


TREATT   BETWEEN   RUSSIA    AND   GREAT   BK      AIN. 


[1825. 


of  fishing  and  trading  with  the  natives  of  the  country : "  it  being, 
however,  stipulated  by  the  remaining  ffth  article,  that  spirituous 
liquors,  fire-arms,  other  arms,  powder,  and  munitions  of  war,  are 
always  excepted  from  this  same  commerce  permitted  by  the  fourth 
article,  and  that,  in  case  of  contravention  of  this  part  of  the  agree- 
ment, the  nation  whose  citizens  or  subjects  may  have  committed 
the  delinquency,  shall  alone  have  the  right  to  punish  them.* 

This  convention  does  not  appear  to  offer  any  grounds  for  dispute 
as  to  the  construction  of  its  stipulations,  but  is,  on  the  contrary,  clear 
and  equally  favorable  to  both  nations.  The  rights  of  both  parties  to 
navigate  every  part  of  the  Pacific,  and  to  trade  with  the  natives  of 
any  places  on  the  coasts  of  that  sea,  not  already  occupied,  are  first 
distinr.tly  acknowledged;  after  which  it  is  agreed,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent inture  difficulties,  that  each  should  submit  to  certain  limitations 
as  to  ii<jvip;ation,  trade,  and  settlement,  on  the  north-west  coiists  of 
A  me  lie,  (,  cither  perpetually  or  during  a  fixed  period.  Neither  party 
claimed,  directly  or  by  inference,  the  immediate  sovereignty  of  any 
spot  on  the  American  coasts  not  occupied  by  its  citizens  or  sub- 
jects, or  mknowledged  the  right  of  the  other  to  the  possession  of 
any  aj;  ■'  ,iot  so  occupied;  the  definitive  regulation  of  limits  being 
deferred  until  the  establishments  and  other  interests  of  the  two 
nations  in  that  quarter  of  the  world  should  have  acquired  such  a 
development  as  to  render  more  precise  stipulations  necessary. 

The  Russian  government,  however,  construed  this  convention  as 
giving  to  itself  the  absolute  sovereignty  of  all  the  west  coasts  of 
America  north  of  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  while  deny- 
ing any  such  right  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  the  coasts 
extending  southward  from  that  line.  In  February,  1825,  a  treaty 
was  concluded  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  relative  to  North- 
West  America,  containing  provisions  similar  to  those  of  the  con- 
vention between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  expressed  in  nearly 
the  same  word:-',  but  also  containing  many  other  provisions,  some 
of  which  are  directly  at  variance  with  the  evident  sense  of  the  last- 
mentioned  agreement.  Thus  ii  is  eRisblished,  by  the  treaty,  that 
"  the  line  of  demarkation  between  ihe  possessions  of  the  high  contract- 
ing parties  upon  the  coast  o^  ihe  continent,  and  the  islands  of 
America  to  the  north-west,"  shall  be  drawn  from  the  southernmost 
point  of  Prince  of  Wales's  Island,  in  latitude  of  54  degrees  40 


'ft 


"  Thin  convention  will  be  {bund  at  length  among  tho  Proofs  and  IlluBtrationa, 
in  the  concluding  part  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  K,  No.  4. 


1825. 


1825.] 


TREATT   BETWEEN   GREAT   BRITAIN    AND    RUSSIA. 


343 


aeing, 

ituous 

r,  are 

fourth 

agree- 

naitted 

1.* 

lispute 

^,  clear 

rties  to 

ives  of 

ire  first 

to  pre- 

litations 

:>iists  of 

er  party 
of  any 

or  sub- 

ssion  of 

its  being 

the  two 

1  such  a 

ary. 

jntion  as 

•oasts  of 

le  deny- 

le  coasts 
a  treaty 
o  North- 
the  con- 
in  nearly 
)ns,  some 
the  last- 
3aty,  that 
,  contract- 
slands  of 
ihernmost 
igrees  40 

iLlluBtraUoni, 


i 


minutes  eastward,  to  the  great  inlet  in  the  continent,  called  Port- 
land Channel,  and  along  the  middle  of  that  inlet,  to  the  56th 
degree  of  latitude,  whence  it  shall  follow  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tains bordering  the  coast,  within  ten  leagues,  north-westward,  to 
Mount  St.  Elias,  and  thence  north,  in  the  course  of  the  Hist 
meridian  west  from  Greenwich,  to  the  Frozen  Ocean ;  "  which 
line,"  says  the  treaty,  "shall  form  the.  limit  between  the  Rtissian 
and  the  British  possessions  in  the  continent  of  America  to  the  north- 
west ; "  it  being  also  agreed  that  the  British  should  forever  have 
the  right  to  navigate  any  streams  flowing  into  the  Pacific  from  the 
interior,  across  the  line  of  demarkation,* 

That  this  treaty  virtually  annulled  the  convention,  of  the  pre- 
ceding year,  between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  is  evident ;  for 
the  convention  rested  entirely  upon  the  assumption  that  the  United 
States  possessed  the  same  right  to  the  part  of  the  Americtln  coast 
south  of  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  which  Russia  pos- 
sessed to  the  part  north  of  that  parallel :  and  the  treaty  distinctly  ac- 
knowledged the  former  or  southern  division  of  the  coast  to  be  the 
property  of  Great  Britain.  It  does  not,  however,  appear  that  any 
representation  on  the  subject  was  addressed  by  the  American  gov- 
ernment to  that  of  Russia ;  and  the  vessels  of  the  United  States 
continued  to  frequent  all  the  unoccupied  parts  of  the  north-west 
coast,  and  to  trade  with  the  natives  uninterruptedly,  until  1834, 
when,  as  will  be  hereafter  shown,  they  were  formally  prohibited, 
by  the  Russian  authorities,  from  visiting  any  place  on  that  coast 
north  of  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  on  the  ground  that 
their  right  to  do  so  had  expired,  agreeably  to  the  convention  of 
1824. 

In  December,  1824,  President  Monroe,  in  his  last  annual  mes- 
sage to  Congress,  recommended  the  establishmtnt  of  a  military  post 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  or  at  some  other  point  within  the 
acknowledged  limits  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  afford  pro- 
tection to  their  commerce  and  fisheries  in  the  Pacific,  to  conciliate 
the  Indians  of  the  north-west,  and  to  promote  the  intercourse  be- 

*  See  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  at  the  end  of  this  volume,  under  the  letter  K,  No.  5. 
Some  curious  particulars  relative  to  the  negotiation  which  led  to  this  treaty  may  be 
found  in  the  Political  Life  of  the  Hon.  George  Canning,  by  A.  G.  Stapleton,  chap, 
xiv.  Mr.  Canning,  it  seems,  was  anxious  for  the  conclusion  of  a  joint  convention 
between  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  and  Russia,  as  regards  the  freedom  of 
navigation  of  the  Pacific,  until  the  appearance  of  the  declaratiou  in  the  message  of 
President  Monroe  above  mentioned,  after  which  he  determined  only  to  treat  with 
each  of  the  other  parties  separately. 


344 


MOVEMENTS    IN    CONGRESS. 


[1824. 


tween  those  territories  and  the  settled  portions  of  the  republic; 
to  effect  which  object,  he  advised  that  appropriations  should  be 
made  for  the  despatch  of  a  frigate,  with  engineers,  to  explore  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  and  the  adjacent  shores.  The  same 
measures  were,  in  the  following  year,  also  recommended  by  Presi- 
dent Adams,  among  the  various  plans  for  the  advantage  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  world  in  general,  to  which  he  requested 
the  attention  of  Congress,  in  his  message,  at  the  commencement 
of  the  session.  In  compliance  with  this  recommendation,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  by  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  chairman 
of  which,  Mr.  Baylies,  of  Massachusetts,  presented  two  reports,* 
containing  numerous  details  with  respect  to  —  the  history  of  discove- 
ry and  trade  in  North- West  America,  —  the  geography,  soil,  climate, 
productions,  and  inhabitants,  of  the  portion  claimed  by  the  United 
States,  —  the  number  and  value  of  the  furs  procured  there,  —  the 
expenses  of  surveying  the  coasts  and  of  forming  military  establish- 
ments for  its  occupation,  and  many  other  matters  relating  to  that 
part  of  the  world ;  in  consideration  whereof,  the  committee  intro- 
duced a  bill  for  the  immediate  execution  of  the  measures  proposed 
by  the  president.  This  bill  was  laid  on  the  table  of  the  House,  and 
the  subject  was  not  again  agitated  in  Congress  until  1828. 

Meanwhile,  i'ue  period  of  ten  years,  during  which  the  countries 
claimed  by  the  United  States  or  by  Great  Britain,  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  were,  agreeably  to  the  convention  of  1818,  to  remain 
free  and  open  to  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  both  nations,  was  draw- 
ing to  a  close  ;  and  a  strong  desire  was  manifested,  on  the  part  of 
the  American  government,  that  some  definitive  arrangement  with 
regard  to  those  countries  should  be  concluded  between  the  two 
powers,  before  the  expiration  of  the  term.  The  British  secretary 
for  foreign  affairs  also  signified  that  his  government  was  prepared 
to  enter  into  a  new  discussion  of  the  question  at  issue ;  and  a  nego- 
tiation with  these  objects  was  accordingly  commenced  between 
Mr.  Gallatin,  the  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  at 
London,  and  Messrs.  Addington  and  Huskisson,  commissioners  on 
the  part  of  Great  Britain. 

Before  relating  the  particulars  of  fhis  negotiation,  it  should  be 
observed  that  the  relative  positions  of  the  two  parties,  as  to  the 
occupancy  and  actual  possession  of  the  countries  in  question,  had 
been  materially  changed  since  the  conclusion  of  the  former  conven- 


Dated  severally  January  16th,  and  May  15th,  1826. 


[1824. 

tublic ; 

uld  be 

•re  the 

same 

Presi-  • 
of  the 
juested 
cement 
a  com- 
lairman 
jports,* 
liscove- 
climate, 

United 
5,  —  the 
stablish- 

to  that 
le  intro- 
jroposed 
luse,  and 

countries 
e  Rocky 
)  remain 
as  draw- 
part  of 
Bnt  with 
the  two 
secretary 
jrepared 
a  nego- 
jetween 
itates  at 
aners  on 

lould  be 
s  to  the 
ion,  had 
conven- 


1826.]      BRITISH    IN    IIUIET    POSSESSION    OF    THE    COLUMBIA. 


345 


tion  between  them.  The  union  of  thr  rival  British  companies,  and 
the  extension  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  Upper  Canada  over 
the  territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  had  already  proved 
most  advantageous  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which  had  at  the 
same  time  received  the  privilege  of  trading  in  that  territory,  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  other  British  subjects.  Great  efforts  were  made, 
and  vast  expenses  were  incurred,  by  this  company,  in  its  cflbrts  to 
found  settlements  on  the  Columbia  River,  and  to  acquire  influence 
over  the  natives  of  the  surrounding  country ;  and  so  successful  had 
been  those  eflbrts,  that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  were 
obliged,  not  only  to  renounce  all  ideas  of  renewing  their  estab- 
lishments in  that  part  of  America,  but  even  to  withdraw  their 
vessels  from  its  coasts.  Indeed,  for  more  than  ten  years  after  the 
capture  of  Astoria  by  the  British,  scarcely  a  single  American  citizen 
was  to  be  seen  in  those  countries.  Trading  expeditions  were  sub- 
sequently made  from  Missouri  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Platte 
and  the  Colorado,  within  the  limits  of  California,  and  one  or  two 
hundred  hunters  and  trappers,  from  the  United  States,  were  gen- 
erally roving  Xhrough  that  region ;  but  the  Americans  had  no 
settlements  of  any  kind,  and  their  government  exercised  no  juris- 
diction whatsoever  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Under  such  favorable  circumstances,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
could  not  fail  to  prosper.  Its  resources  were  no  longer  wasted  in 
disputes  with  rivals ;  its  operations  were  conducted  with  despatch 
and  certainty ;  its  posts  were  extended,  and  its  means  of  communi- 
cation increased,  under  the  assurance  that  the  honor  of  the  British 
government  and  nation  was  thereby  more  strongly  interested  in  its 
behalf.  The  agents  of  the  company  were  seen  in  every  part  of  the 
continent,  north  and  north-west  of  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  hunting,  trapping,  and  trading 
with  the  aborigines ;  its  boats  were  met  on  every  stream  and  lake, 
conveying  British  goods  into  the  interior,  or  furs  to  the  great  deposi- 
tories on  each  ocean,  for  shipment  to  England  in  British  vessels ; 
and  the  utmost  order  and  regularity  were  maintained  throughout  by 
the  supremacy  of  British  laws.  Of  the  trading  posts,  many  were 
fortified,  and  could  be  defended  by  their  inmates  —  men  inured  to 
hardships  and  dangers — against  all  attacks  which  might  be  appre- 
hended ;  and  the  whole  vast  expanse  of  territory  above  described, 
including  the  regions  drained  by  the  Colun)bia,  was,  in  fact,  occu- 
pied by  British  forces,  and  governed  by  British  laws,  though  there 
44 


346 


mCOOTlATION    AT    LONDON. 


[1826. 


was  not  a  lingle  British  soldier — technically  speaking — within 
its  limits. 

Considering  this  state  of  things,  and  also  the  characters  of  the 
two  nations  engaged  in  the  controversy  and  of  their  governments, 
it  may  readil;-  be  supposed  that  many  and  great  obstacles  would 
exist  in  the  way  of  a  definitive  and  amicable  arrangement  of  the 
questions  at  issue,  between  the  Americans  ever  solicitous  with 
respect  to  territory  which  they  have  any  reason  to  regard  as  their 
own,  and  the  British  with  whom  the  acquisition  and  security  of 
commercial  advantages  always  form  a  paramount  object  of  policy. 
To  the  difficulties  occasioned  by  the  conflict  of  such  material 
interests,  in  this  particular  case,  were  added  those  arising  from  the 
pride  of  the  parties,  and  their  mutual  jealousy,  which  seems  ever  to 
render  them  adverse  to  any  settlement  of  a  disputed  point,  even 
though  it  should  be  manifestly  advantageous  to  them  both. 

In  the  first  conference,''*'  the  British  commissioners  declared  that 
their  government  was  still  ready  to  abide  by  the  proposition  made 
to  Mr.  Rush,  in  1824,  for  a  line  of  separation  between  the  territories 
of  the  two  nations,  drawn  from  the  Rocky  Mountains,  along  the 
49th  parallel  of  latitude  to  the  north-easternmost  branch  of  the 
Columbia,  and  thence  down  that  river  to  the  sea ;  giving  to  Great 
Britain  all  the  territories  north,  and  to  the  United  States  all  south, 
of  that  line.  Mr.  Gallatin,  in  reply,  agreeably  to  instructions  from 
his  government,  repeated  ths  offer  made  by  himself  and  Mr.  Rush, 
in  1818,  for  the  adoption  of  the  49th  parallel  as  the  line  of  separa- 
tion from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific,  with  the  additional 
provisions,  —  that,  if  the  said  line  should  cross  any  of  the  branches 
of  the  Columbia  at  points  from  which  they  are  navigable  by  boats 
to  the  main  stream,  the  navigation  of  such  branches,  and  of  the 
main  stream,  should  be  perpetually  free  and  common  to  the  people 
of  both  nations — that  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  neither  party 
should  thenceforward  make  any  settlements  in  the  territories  of  the 
other;  but  that  all  settlements  already  formed  by  the  people  of 
3ither  nation  within  the  limits  of  the  other,  might  be  occupied  and 
used  by  them  for  ten  years,  and  no  longer,  during  which  all  the 
remaining  provisions  of  the  existing  convention  should  continue  in 
force.  The  British  refused  to  accede  to  this  or  any  other  plan  of 
partition  which  should  deprive  them  of  the  northern  bank  of  the 

*  President  Adams'a  message  to  Congress  of  December  28th,  1837,  and  'he  ao 
companying  documents. 


1826. 
nthin 

3f  the 
aents, 
would 
of  the 
i  with 
s  their 
rity  of 
policy, 
mterial 
om  the 
ever  to 
t,  even 
\i. 

red  that 
n  made 
srritories 
ong  the 
1  of  the 
to  Great 
ill  south, 
ans  from 

r.  Rush, 

separa- 

dditional 

tranches 

by  boats 
of  the 
people 

|er  party 

|es  of  the 
iople  of 

pied  and 
all  the 

Intinue  in 
plan  of 

ik  of  the 

id  the  ac- 


18-26.] 


NCUOTIATJON    SUSPENDKD. 


347 


Columbia ,  and  the  right  of  navigating  that  river  to  and  from  the 
sea :  tliuugh  they  expressed  their  willingness  to  yield  to  the  United 
States,  in  addition  to  what  tliey  first  offered,  a  detached  territory, 
"  comprised  within  a  line  to  be  drawn  from  Cape  Flattery,  along  the 
southern  shore  of  De  Fuca's  Inlet,  to  Point  Wilson,  at  the  north- 
western extremity  of  Admiralty  Inlet ;  from  thence  along  the 
western  shore  of  that  inlet,  across  the  entrance  of  Hood's  Inlet,  to 
the  point  of  land  forming  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  the  said 
inlet ;  from  thence  along  the  ciistorn  shore  of  that  inlet,  to  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  same ;  from  thence  direct  to  tlie  southern 
point  of  Gray's  Harbor ;  from  thence  along  the  shore  of  the  Pacific 
to  Cape  Flattery ; "  and  also  to  stipulate  that  no  works  sliould  at  any 
time  be  erected  by  either  party  at  the  mouth  or  on  the  l>  of  the 
Columbia,  calculated  to  impede  the  free  navigation  oi  at  river. 
The  Americans,  however,  being  equally  determined  not  to  give  up 
their  title  to  any  part  of  the  country  south  of  the  49th  parallel,  all 
expectation  of  effecting  a  definitive  disposition  of  the  claims  was 
abandoned. 

The  plenipotentiaries  then  directed  their  attention  to  the  sub- 
ject of  a  renewal  of  the  arrangement  for  the  use  and  occupancy 
of  the  territories  in  question  by  the  people  of  both  nations.  With 
this  view,  the  British  proposed  that  the  existing  arrangement 
should  be  renewed  according  to  the  terms  of  the  third  article 
of  the  convention  of  October  20th,  1818,  for  fifteen  years  from 
the  date  of  the  expiration  of  that  convention  ;  with  the  addi- 
tional provisions,  however,  that,  during  those  fifteen  years,  neither 
power  should  assume  or  exercise  any  right  of  exclusive  sovereignty 
or  dominion  over  any  part  of  the  territory ;  and  that  no  settlement 
then  made,  or  which  might  thereafter  be  made,  by  either  nation 
in  those  countries,  should  ever  be  adduced  in  support  of  any 
claim  to  such  sovereignty  or  dominion.  This  proposition  wtis  re- 
ceived by  Mr.  Gallatin  for  reference  to  his  government,  although 
he  saw  at  once  that  the  additional  provisions  were  inadmissible ;  and 
the  negotiation  was,  in  consequence,  suspended  for  some  months. 

During  this  first  period  of  the  negotiation,  the  claims  and  pre- 
tensions of  the  two  nations  respecting  the  countries  in  question,  were 
developed  and  discussed  more  fully  than  on  any  previous  occasion, 
not  only  in  the  conferences  between  the  plenipotentiaries,  but  also 
in  written  statements,*  formally  presented  on  each  side.     As  nearly 

•  The  Statement  of  the  British  plenipotentiaries,  and  the  Counter-statement  of  Mr. 
Gallatin,  will  be  found  entire  among  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  under  the  letter  H 


■m 


^ 

.^J^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


Villi    |U 

■^  lU  12.2 
S  lift  "« 
2.0 


U    il.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  US80 

(716)  872-4S03 


4r 


848 


CLAIMS   or   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


[18S6. 


every  point  touched  by  either  of  the  parties  has  been  already  ex- 
amined minutely  in  the  foregoing  pages,  it  only  remains  now  to 
recapitulate  them,  and  to  add  some  remarks,  which  could  not 
have  been  conveniently  introduced  at  an  earlier  period. 

Mr.  Gallatin  claimed  for  the  United  States  the  possession  of  the 
territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  between  the  42d  and  the 
49th  parallels  of  latitude,  on  the  grounds  of — 

The  acquisition  by  the  United  States  of  the  titles  of  France 
through  the  Louisiana  treaty,  and  the  titles  of  Spain  through  the 
Florida  treaty; 

The  discovery  of  the.  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  the  first  explora- 
tion of  the  countries  through  which  that  river  flows,  and  'he  estab- 
lishment of  the  first  posts  and  settlements  in  those  countries  by 
American  citizens ; 

The  virtual  recc^ition  of  the  title  of  the  United  States,  by  the 
British  government,  in  the  restitution,  agreeably  to  the  first  article 
of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  of  the  post  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
which  had  been  taken  during  the  war ; 

And,  lastly,  upon  the  ground  o(  contiguity,  which  should  give  the 
United  States  a  stronger  right  to  those  territories  than  cbuld  be 
advanced  by  any  other  power  —  a  doctrine  always  maintained  by 
Great  Britain,  from  the  period  of  her  earliest  attempts  at  coloniza- 
tion in  America,  as  clearly  proved  by  her  charters,  in  which  the 
whole  breadth  of  the  continent,  between  certain  parallels  of  lati- 
tude, was  granted  to  colonies  established  only  at  points  on  the 
borders  of  the  Atlantic* 

Messrs.  Huskisson  and  Addington,  on  the  other  hand,  declared 
that  Great  Britain  claims  no  exclusive  sovereignty  over  any  portion 
of  the  territory  on  the  Pacific  between  the  42d  and  the  49th  paral- 
lels of  latitude ;  her  present  claim,  not  in  respect  to  any  part,  but 
to  the  whole,  being  limited  to  a  right  of  joint  occupancy,  in  com- 
mon with  other  states,  leaving  the  right  of  exclusive  dominion  in 
abeyance.  They  then  proceeded  to  examine  the  grounds  of  the 
claims  of  the  United  States,  none  of  which  they  admitted  to  be 

*  "  If,"  Bays  Mr.  Gallatin,  "  some  trading  factories  on  the  shores  of  Hudson's  Bay 
have  been  considered  by  Great  Britain  as  givinjr  an  erclusive  right  of  occupancy  as 
far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  if  the  infant  settlements  on  the  more  southern  Atlantic 
shores  justified  a  claim  thence  to  the  South  Seas,  and  which  was  actually  enforced  to 
the  Mississippi, — that  of  the  millions  already  within  reach  of  those  seas  cannot  rrn- 
■tstently  be  rejected."  This  argument,  it  may  be  added,  has  been  since  constantly 
iaeimsing  in  force. 


1896.] 


CLAIMS   or    ORCAT  BRITAIN. 


849 


the 


valid,  except  that  acquired  from  Spun,  through  the  Florida  treaty, 
in  1819 ;  and  the  right  thus  acquired  they  pronounced  to  be  nothing 
more  than  the  right  secured  to  Spain,  in  common  with  Great  Brit- 
ain, by  the  Nootka  convention,  in  1790,  to  trade  and  settle  in  any 
part  of  those  countries,  and  to  navigate  their  waters.  Dismissing 
the  claims  of  Spain,  on  the  grounds  of  discovery,  prior  to  1790, 
as  futile  and  visionary,  and  inferior  to  those  of  Great  Britain  on  the 
same  grounds,  they  maintained  that  al!  arguments  and  pretensions 
of  either  of  those  powers,  whether  resting  on  discovery  or  on  any 
other  consideration,  were  definitively  set  at  rest  by  the  Nootka 
convention,  after  the  signature  of  which,  the  title  was  no  longer  to 
be  traced  in  vague  discoveries,  several  of  them  admitted  to  be 
apocryphal,  but  in  the  text  and  stipulations  of  that  convention 
itself ;  and  that,  as  the  Nootka  convention  applied  to  all  parts  of  the 
north-west  coast  of  America  not  occupied,  in  1790,  by  either  of 
the  parties,  it  of  course  included  any  portion  of  Louisiana  which 
might  then  have  extended,  on  the  Pacific,  north  of  the  northern- 
most Spanish  settlement,  and  which  could  not,  therefore,  bo  claimed 
by  the  United  States,  in  virtue  of  the  treaty  for  the  cession  of  Lou- 
isiana to  that  republic,  in  1803. 

Having  assumed  this  ground,  it  was  scarcely  necessary  for  the 
British  plenipotentiaries  to  go  further  into  the  examination  of  the 
titles  of  the  United  States ;  and  they  probably  acted  on  this  suppo- 
sition, as  it  is  otherwise  impossible  to  account  for  the  gross  mis- 
statements with  regard  to  the  discoveries  of  the  Americans,  the 
extravagant  and  unfounded  assumptions,  and  the  illogical  deduc- 
tions, in  the  document  presented  by  them  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  on  the 
part  of  their  government.  Thus,  with  regard  to  the  discovery  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  they  insisted  that  "  Mr.  Meares,  a  lieu- 
tenant in  the  royal  navy,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  East  India 
Company  on  a  trading  expedition  to  the  north-west  coasts  of 
America,"  really  effected  that  discovery  four  years  before  Gray  is 
even  pretended  to  haVe  entered  the  river;*  though  they  indeed 
admitted  that  "  Mr.  Gray,  finding  himself  in  the  bay  formed  by  the 
discharge  of  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  into  the  Pacific,  was  the 
first  to  ascertain  that  this  hay  formed  the  outlet  of  a  great  river,  a 
discovery  which  had  escaped  Lieutenant  Meares "  when  he  entered 
the  same  bay ;  but  that,  even  supposing  the  priority  of  Gray's  dis- 
covery to  be  proved,  it  was  of  no  consequence  in  the  case,  as  the 


See  p.  177. 


850 


CliiUfi   OF   OBCAT  BRITAIN. 


[1836. 


country  in  which  it  was  made  "  falls  within  the  proviuons  of  Ae 
r!<mTention  of  1790."  They  refused  to  allow  that  the  claims  of  the 
United  States  are  strengthened  by  the  exploration  of  the  country 
through  which  the  Colund>ia  flows,  as  performed  in  1805-6  by 
liewis  and  Clarke,  "  because,  if  not  before,  at  least  in  the  same  and 
subsequent  years,"  the  agents  of  the  North-West  Company  had 
established  posts  on  the  northern  branch  of  the  river,  and  were 
extending  them  down  to  its  mouth,  when  they  h^d  of  the  forma- 
tion of  the  American  post  at  that  place  in  181 1.*  That  the  restora- 
tion of  Astoria,  in  1818,  conveyed  a  virtual  acknowledgment  by 
Great  Britain  of  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the  country  in 
which  that  post  is  situated,  was  also  denied,  on  the  ground  that 
letters  protesting  against  such  title  were,  at  the  time  of  the  restora^ 
tion,  addressed,  by  members  of  the  British  ministry,  to  British  agents 
in  the  United  States  and  on  the  Columbia.!  It  is  needless  to  add 
any  thing  to  what  has  been  already  said  on  these  points,  in  order 
to  prove  the  entire  groundlessness  of  the  assertions  contained  in  the 
British  statement  with  regard  to  them. 

The  charters  granted  by  the  sovereigns  of  Great  Britain  and 
France,  conveying  to  individuals  or  companies  large  tracts  of  terri- 
'  tory  in  America,  were  represented,  by  the  British  plenipotentiaries, 
as  being  nothing  ''more,  in- fact,  than  a  cession  to  the  grantee  or 
grantees  of  whatever  rights  the  grantor  might  suppose  himself  to 
possess,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  subjects  of  the  same  nation, — 
binding  and  restraining  those  only  who  were  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  grantor,  and  of  no  force  or  validity  against  the  subjects 
of  other  states,  until  recc^ized  by  treaty,  and  thereby  becoming  a 
part  of  international  law."  The  erroneousness  of  these  views 
is  obvious,  and  was  easily  demonstrated  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  who 
showed,  by  reference  to  the  history  of  British  colonization  and 
dominion  in  America,  that  the  royal  grantors  of  territories  in  that 
continent  did  consider  their  charters  as  binding  on  all,  whether  their 
own  subjects  or  not,  and  with  regard  to  countries  first  discovered 
and  settled  by  people  of  other  nations,  whenever  they  were  found 
to  be  within  the  limits  thus  indicated.  These  facts  were  cited,  not 
in  vindication  of  the  justice  of  those  grants,  but  merely  to  prove 
in  what  light  they  had  been  regarded  by  Great  Britain :  and,  if  the 
principle  thus  assumed  by  that  power,  and  maintained  from  1580 
to  1789,  as  relating  to  Atlantic  colonies,  were  correct,  she  could  not 


•  See  p.  297. 


f  Seep.  310. 


ig^-i 


DETIiRnMrATIONS   OV   OBKAT  MOTAIN. 


861 


deny  Hi  application  to  the  United  Stately  now  the  ownen  of  Lou- 

isiatia.* 

The  Bn^h  plenipotentiaries  were,  however,  clear  and  explicit  as 
to  the  intentions  of  their  government,  which  were  declared,  at  the 
cohdttsion  of  their  statement,  in  terms  of  moderation  and  forbear- 
ance truly  edifying.  Great  Britain,  they  assert,  claims,  at  present, 
nothing  more  than  the  rights  of  trade,  navigation,  and  settlement, 
m  the  part  of  the  world  under  consideration,  agreeably  to  the  pro- 
visrofis  of  the  Nootka  convention,  the  basis  of  the  law  of  nations 
with  regard  to  those  territories  and  waters,  under  the  protection  of 
which  many  important  British  interests  have  grown  up;  and  she 
admits  that  the  United  States  have  the  same  rights,  but  none  other, 
although  they  have  been  exercised  only  in  one  instance,  and  not 
at  all  since  1813.  In  the  territory  between  the  42d  and  the  49th 
parallehi  of  latitude,  are  many  British  posts  and  settlements,  for  the 
trade  and  supply  of  which,  the  free  navigation  of  the  Columbia, 
to.  and  from  the  sea,  is  indispensable;  the  United  States  possess 
not  a  single  post  or  settlement  of  any  kind  in  that  whole  region. 
Great  Britain,  nevertheless,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  good  under- 
standing, agrees  to  submit  to  a  definitive  partition  of  that  territory, 
giving  to  the  United  States  the  whole  division  south  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, and  a  large  tract  containing  an  excellent  harbor,  north  of 
that  river ;  and,  the  United  States  having  declined  to  accede  to  this 
proposition,  it  only  remains  for  Great  Britain  to  maintain  and  up- 


*  "  This  construction  does  not  appear  either  to  have  been  that  intended  at  the  time 
by  the  grantors,  or  to  have  governed  the  subsequent  conduct  of  Great  Britain.  By 
excepting  from  the  grants,  as  was  generally  the  case,  such  lands  as  were  already  oc- 
cupied by  the  subjects  of  other  civilized  nations,  it  was  clearly  implied  that  no  other 
exception  was  contemplated,  and  that  the  grants  were  intended  to  include  all  unoccu- 
pied lands  within  their  respective  boundaries,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  persons  or 
nations  whatsoever.  In  point  of  fact,  the  whole  country  drained  by  the  several  riven 
emptying  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  mouths  of  which  were  w'thin  those  charters, 
has,  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Florida,  and,  it  is  believed,  without  exception,  been  occu- 
pied and  held  by  virtue  of  those  charters.  Not  only  has  this  principle  been  fully 
confirnled,  but  it  has  been  notoriously  enforced  much  beyond  the  sources  of  the  rivers 
on  which  the  settlements  were  formed.  The  priority  of  the  French  settlements  on 
the  rivers  flowing  westwardly  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains  into  the  Mississippi  was 
altogether  disregarded ;  and  the  rights  of  the  Atlantic  colonies  to  extend  beyond  those 
mountains,  as  growing  out  of  the  contiguity  of  territory,  and  as  asserted  in  the  earliest 
charters,  was  effectually  and  successfully  enforced." 

The  American  minister  might  also  have  cited  the  charters  granted  to  the  Virginia 
Company  by  King  James  I.,  in  1609  and  1611,  in  virtue  of  which,  the  Dutch  settle- 
ments on  the  Hudson  River,  in  a  country  first  discovered,  explored,  and  occupied, 
under  the  flag  of  theT  United  Provinces,  were,  in  1664,  —  forty  years  after  the  disso- 
lution of  the  company,  —  during  peace  between  the  two  nations,  seized  by  British 
forces,  u  being  included  in  the  territories  conceded  to  that  company. 


362 


BBITIM  PROP08ITIOM8   REJECTED. 


'T 


[18S7. 


hold  the  qualified  rights  which  she  now  possessei  over  the  whole  of 
the  territory  in  question.  "  To  the  interests  which  British  industry 
and  enterprise  have  created  Great  Britain  owes  protection.  That 
protection  will  be  given,  both  as  regards  settlement  and  freedom 
of  trade  and  navigation,  with  every  attention  not  to  infringe  the 
coordinate  rights  of  the  United  States ;  it  being  the  earnest  desire 
of  the  British  government,  so  long  as  the  joint  occupancy  con- 
tinues, to  regulate  its  own  obligations  by  the  same  rule  which 
governs  the  obligations  of  any  other  occupying  party."  Thus,  in 
1826,  the  British  government  based  its  claims,  with  regard  to  the 
territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  entirely  on  the  Nootka 
convention  of  1790,  'and  the  acts  of  occupation  by  its  subjects 
under  that  agreement ;  the  abrogation  of  which,  by  the  war  between 
the  parties,  in  1796,  —  ten  years  before  a  single  spot  in  those  territo- 
ries had  been  occupied  by  a  British  subject,  —  has  been  already  so 
fully  demonstrated,'*  that  any  further  observations  would  be  super- 
fluous. 

The  proposition  of  the  British  plenipotentiaries,  with  regard  to  the 
renewal  of  the  existing  arrangement  for  ten  years,  was  rejected  by 
the  president  of  the  United  States,f  on  the  grounds  —  that,  so  far  as 
it  would  tend  to  prevent  the  Americans  from  exercising  exclusive 
sovereignty  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  it  would  be  con- 
trary to  their  rights,  as  acknowledged  by  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  and 
by  the  restitution  of  the  place  agreeably  to  that  treaty ;  —  that  the 
proposed  additional  provisions  do  not  define,  but  leave  open  to 
disputation,  the  acts  which  might  be  deemed  an  exercise  of  exclu- 
sive sovereignty ;  —  and  that,  from  the  nature  of  the  institutions  of 
the  United  States,  their  rights  in  the  territory  in  question  must  be 
protected,  and  their  citizens  must  be  secured  in  their  lawful  pursuits, 
by  some  species  of  government,  different  from  that  which  it  has 
been,  or  may  be,  the  pleasure  of  Great  Britain  to  establish  there. 
Mr.  Gallatin,  on  the  24th  of  May,  1827,  communicated  to  the 
British  commissioners  the  fact  of  the  rejection  of  their  proposition, 
and  the  reasons  for  it,  declaring,  at  the  same  time,  formally,  in 
obedience  to  special  instructions,  that  his  government  did  not  hold 
itself  bound  hereafter  in  consequen::!:  of  any  proposal  which  it  had 
made  for  a  line  of  separation  between  the  territories  of  the  two 
nations  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  but  would  consider  itself  at 
Uberty  to  contend  for  the  full  extent  of  the  claims  of  the  United  States. 


*  See  the  examinationa  of  th'ii  question,  at  pp,  S13,  257,  and  318. 

t  Letter  of  Febiuary  34tb,  1887,  ftom  the  Hon.  Henry  Clay  to  Mr.  Gallatin. 


1887.] 


MEOOTIATION    AT   LONDON   ISgUllKD. 


853 


the 


ist  be 
suits, 

has 
here. 

the 
ition, 

,  in 
hold 

had 

two 
If  at 
'tates. 

atin. 


The  British  plenipotentiaries,  having  entered  on  the  protocol  of 
the  conferences  a  declaration  with  regard  to  the  previous  claims 
and  propositions  of  their  government,  similar  to  that  made  on  the 
part  of  the  United  States  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  then  intimated  their 
readiness  to  agree  to  a  simple  renewal  of  the  terms  of  the  existing 
arrangement,  for  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  expiration  of  the 
convention  of  1818;  provided,  however,  that,  in  so  doing,  they 
should  append  to  the  new  convention,  in  some  way,  a  declara- 
tion of  what  they  considered  to  be  its  true  intent,  namely, — that 
both  parties  were  restricted,  during  its  continuance  in  force,  from 
exercising,  or  assuming  to  themselves  the  right  to  exercise,  any  exclur 
sive  sovereignty  or  jurisdiction  over  the  territories  mentioned  in  the 
agreement.  The  objections  to  this  arrangement  were  nearly  as 
strong  as  to  that  which  had  already  been  proposed  and  refused; 
Mr.  Gallatin,  however,  desired  to  know  what  species  of  acts  the 
British  would  consider  as  an  exercise  of  exclusive  sovereignty  or 
jurisdiction.  In  reply,  he  was  informed  that  Great  Britain  would 
not  complain  of  the  extension,  over  the  regions  west  of  the  Rxx:ky 
Mountains,  of  the  jurisdiction  of  any  territory,  having  for  its  eastern 
boundary  a  line  within  the  acknowledged  boundaries  of  the  United 
States ;  provided  —  that  no  custom-house  should  be  erected,  nor 
any  duties  or  charges  on  tonnage,  merchandise,  or  commerce,  be 
raised,  by  either  party,  in  the  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
—  that  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  two  powers  residing  in  or 
resorting  to  those  countries,  should  be  amenable  only  to  the  juris- 
diction of  their  own  nation  respectively  —  and  that  no  military 
post  should  be  established  by  either  party  in  those  countries ;  or, 
at  least,  no  such  post  as  would  command  the  navigation  of  the 
Columbia  or  any  of  its  branches. 

To  the  first  of  these  conditions,  Mr.  Gallatin  saw  no  strong  reason 
to  object.  With  regard  to  the  second,  he  considered  it  indispensable 
that  the  respective  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  justice  should  be 
determined  by  positive  compact,  as  it  would  scarcely  be  possible 
otherwise  to  prevent  collisions ;  and  upon  the  third  condition,  he 
believed  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  correct  under- 
standing, as  the  British  government  would  not  admit  the  posts  of 
the  Hu'lson's  Bay  Company  to  be  military  establishments.  On  all 
these  points,  the  two  governments  might  afterwards  negotiate; 
but  the  American  minister  refused  to  assent  to  any  declaration  or 
explanation  whatsoever  respecting  the  terms  under  which  the  terri- 
tories in  question  were  to  remain  open  to  the  people  of  the  two 
45 


364 


REIfXWAI.   or   THE    CONTENTION   OF    1818. 


[1897. 


countries ;  and  the  Britiih  were  equally  resolved  not  to  agree  to  a 
renewal  of  the  engagement  for  a  fixed  period  of  time,  without  such 
a  declaration. 

Finally,  on  the  6th  of  August,  1827,  a  convention  was  signed  by 
the  plenipotentiaries,  to  the  effect,  that  the  provisions  of  the  third 
article  of  the  convention  of  October  20th,  1818,  —  rendering  all 
the  territories  claimed  by  Great  Britain  or  by  the  United  States, 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  free  and  open  to  the  citizens  or 
subjects  of  both  nations  for  ten  years, — should  be  further  extended 
for  an  indefinite  period ;  either  party  being,  however,  at  liberty  to 
annul  and  abrogate  the  agreement,  on  giving  a  year's  notice  of  its 
intention  to  the  other.*  This  convention  was  submitted  to  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  in  the  following  winter,  and,  having 
been  approved  by  that  body,  it  was  immediately  ratified. 

In  relating  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  adoption  of  the 
convention  of  October,  1818,  the  opinion  was  expressed,  that  it  was 
perhaps  the  most  wise,  as  well  as  most  just,  arrangement  which 
could  then  have  been  made ;  and  this  renewal  of  the  arrangement 
for  an  indefinite  period,  leaving  each  of  the  parties  at  liberty  to 
abrc^te  it,  after  a  reasonable  notice  to  the  other,  appears  to  merit 
the  same  commendation.  No  unworthy  concession  was  made, 
no  loss  of  dignity  or  right  was  sustained,  on  either  side ;  and  to 
break  the  amicable  and  mutually  profitable  relations,  then  subsisting 
between  the  two  countries,  on  a  question  of  mere  title  to  the  pos- 
session of  territories  from  which  neither  could  derive  any  immediate 
benefit  of  consequence,  would  have  been  impolitic  and  unrighteous. 
The  advantages  of  the  convention  were,  in  1827,  as  in  1818,  nearly 
equal  to  both  nations;  but  the  difference  was,  on  the  whole,  in 
favor  of  the  United  States.  The  British  might,  indeed,  derive  more 
profit  from  the  fur  trade  as  carried  on  by  their  organij^od  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  than  the  Americans  could  expect  to  obtain  by  the 
individual  efforts  of  their  citizens ;  but  the  value  of  that  trade  is 
much  less  than  is  generally  supposed:  no  settlements  could  be 
formed  in  the  territory  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  by  which  it 
could  acquire  a  population,  while  the  arrangement  subsisted ;  and 
the  facilities  for  occupying  the  territory  at  a  future  period,  when  its 
occupation  by  the  United  States  should  become  expedient,  would 
undoubtedly  have  increased  in  a  far  greater  ratio  on  their  part  than 
on  that  of  Great  Britain.     For  the  difficulties  which   must  arise 


Proofs  and  Iliuitrations,  letter  I,  No.  6. 


1829.] 


PROCEEDINGS    IN    CONORESB. 


866 


whenever  the  convention  is  abrogated,  even  agreeably  to  the  man- 
ner therein  stipulated,  it  became,  of  course,  the  duty  of  each 
government  to  provide  in  time. 

In  the  session  of  Congress  following  that  in  which  the  new  con- 
vention with  Great  Britain  had  been  approvpd,  the  subject  of  the 
occupation  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  was  again  discussed ; 
and,  after  a  long  series  of  debates,  in  which  the  most  eminent  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives  took  part,  a  bill  was  reported, 
whereby  the  president  was  authorized  to  cause  the  territory  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  be  explored,  and  forts  and  garrisons  to 
be  established  in  any  proper  places,  between  the  parallels  of  42 
degrees  and  54  degrees  40  minutes ;  and  also  to  extend  the  juris- 
diction of  the  United  States  over  those  countries,  as  regards  citizens 
of  the  Union.  The  adoption  of  these  measures  was  urged,  on  the 
ground  that  it  was  the  duty  of  the  government  to  make  good,  by 
occupation,  the  right  of  the  United  States,  which  was  pronounced 
unquestionable,  lest,  by  neglect,  the  country  should  fall  irrevocably 
into  the  possession  of  another  power,  which  had  unjustly  contested 
that  right :  and,  as  inducements  to  pursue  this  course,  pictures  most 
flattering  were  presented  of  the  soil,  climate,  and  productions,  of 
the  regions  watered  by  the  Columbia,  and  of  the  various  advantages 
which  would  be  secured  to  the  citizens  of  the  Union  engaged  in  the 
trade  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  by  the  settlement  of  those  coasts.  The 
bill  was  opposed,  as  infringing  the  convention  recently  concluded 
with  Great  Britain ;  in  addition  to  which,  it  was  contended,  that, 
were  all  opposition  on  the  part  of  that  or  other  powers  removed, 
and  the  right  of  the  United  States  estabUshed  and  universally 
recognized,  the  occupation  of  the  countries  in  question  in  the 
manner  proposed,  would  be  useless,  from  their  extreme  barre.  x'^s, 
from  the  dangers  to  navigation  presented  by  their  coasts,  and  from 
the  difficulty  of  communicating  with  them  either  by  sea  or  by  land ; 
and  such  occupation  might  be  injurious,  as  citizens  of  the  United 
States  would  be  thus  induced  to  settle  in  those  countries,  and  their 
government  would  find  itself  bound  to  protect  and  maintain  them, 
at  great  expense,  without  a  commensurate  advancement  of  the  pub- 
lic good.  In  the  course  of  the  debates,  several  amendments  were 
proposed  to  the  bill,  but  it  was  finally  rejected  on  the  9th  of 
January,  1829 ;  and,  for  many  years  afterwards,  very  little  atten- 
tion was  bestowed,  by  any  branch  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  to  matters  connected  with  the  territories  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  ^»rj.  /  »  t  jvv?  -s^i.i 


■--•i"-i'« 


866 


t., 


CHAPTER   XVII. 


1823  TO  1844 


r»w  Cititeiu  of  the  United  SUtei  in  the  Countriea  weit  of  the  Rooky  MonnUine 
between  1813  and  1U23— Trading  Expeditioni  of  Aihley,  Subielle,  Smith,  Pikher, 
Pattie,  Bonneville,  and  Wyeth  — Misaionaries  from  the  United  Sutea  form  Eitab* 
lishmenta  on  the  Columbia  —  Firtt  Printing  Prew  aet  up  in  Oregon  —  Oppoii* 
tion  of  the  Hudaon'a  Bay  Company  to  the  Americana;  how  exerted  —  Contra 
Teray  between  the  United  States  and  RuMia  —  Dispute  between  the  Hudaon'a 
Bay  and  the  Ruaaian  American  Companies;  how  terminated  —  California;  Cap- 
ture of  Monterey  by  Commodore  Jonea— The  Sandwich  lalanda;  Proceeding! of 
the  Miaaionaries';  ExpuUion  of  the  Catholic  Prieata,  and  their  ReinaUtement  by  • 
IVench  Force  —  The  Sandwich  lalanda  temporarily  oocupied  by  the  Britiah. 


It  has  already  been  said,  that,  during  the  ten  years  immediately 
following  the  dissolution  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company,  and  the 
seizure  of  its  establishments  on  the  Columbia  by  the  British,  few, 
if  any,  citizens  of  the  United  States  entered  the  countries  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  although,  within  that  period,  the  facilities 
for  communication  between  those  countries  and  the  settled  portions 
of  the  American  Union  had  been  increased  by  the  introduction  of 
steam  vessels  on  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributary  rivers.  Nearly 
all  the  trade  of  the  regions  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  and  the 
Missouri  was  then  carried  on  by  the  old  North  American  Fur 
Company,  at  the  head  of  which  Mr.  Astor  still  remained ;  and  by 
another  association,  called  the  Columbia  Fur  Company,  formed  in 
1822,  composed  principally  of  persons  who  had  been  in  the  service 
of  the  North- West  Company,  and  were  dissatisfied  with  their  new 
masters.  The  Columbia  Company  established  several  posts  on  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Missouri,  and  the  Yellowstone, 
which  were,  however,  transferred  to  the  North  American  Company, 
on  the  junction  of  the  two  bodies  in  1S26.  The  Americans  had  also 
begun  to  trade  with  the  northernmost  provinces  of  Mexico,  before 
the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  authority  in  that  country ;  after  which 
event,  lai^e  caravans  passed  regularly,  in  each  summer,  between 
St.  Louis  and  Santa  F£,  the  capital  of  New  Mexico,  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  River  Bravo  del  Norte. 


1836.] 


TRADING    EXPEDITIONS    OF    ASHLEY. 


The  first  attempt  to  reestablish  commercial  communication! 
between  the  United  States  and  the  territories  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  was  made  by  W.  H.  Ashley,  of  St.  Louis,  who  had  been, 
for  some  time  previous,  engaged  in  the  fur  trade  of  the  Missouri  and 
Yellowstone  countries.  He  quitted  the  state  of  Missouri  in  the 
spring  of  1833,  at  the  head  of  a  large  party  of  men,  with  horsei 
carrying  merchandise  and  baggage,  and  proceeded  up  the  Platte 
River,  to  the  sources  of  its  northern  branch,  called  the  Sweet  Water^ 
which  had  not  been  previously  explored.  These  sources  were  found 
to  be  situated  in  a  remarkable  valley,  or  cleft,  in  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, in  the  latitude  of  42  degrees  30  minutes ;  and  immediately 
beyond  them  were  discovered  those  of  another  stream,  flowing 
south-westward,  called  by  the  Indians  Sidskadee,  and  by  the 
Americans  Green  River,  which  proved  to  be  one  of  the  head- 
waters of  the  Colorado  of  California.  In  the  country  about  these 
streams,  which  had  not  then  been  frequented  by  the  British  traders, 
Mr.  Ashley  passed  the  summer,  with  his  men,  employed  in  trap- 
ping, and  in  bartering  goods  for  skins  with  the  natives ;  and,  before 
the  end  of  the  year,  he  brought  back  to  St.  Louis  a  large  and  valu- 
able stock  of  furs. 

In  1834,  Mr.  Ashley  made  another  expedition  up  the  Platte, 
and  through  the  cleft  in  the  mountains,  which  has  since  been  gen- 
erally called  the  Southern  Pass ;  and  then,  advancing  farther  west, 
he  reached  a  great  collection  of  salt  water  called  the  Utah  Lake, 
(probably  the  Lake  Timpanogos,  or  Lake  Tegayo,  of  the  old  Spanish 
maps,)  which  lies  imbosomed  among  lofty  mountains,  between  the 
40th  and  the  43d  parallels  of  latitude.  Near  this  lake,  on  the 
south-east,  he  found  another  and  smaller  one,  to  which  he  gave  his 
own  name ;  and  there  he  built  a  fort,  or  trading  post,  in  which  he  left 
about  a  hundred  men,  when  he  returned  to  Missouri  in  the  autumn. 
Two  years  afterwards,  a  six-pound  cannon  was  drawn  from  Mis- 
souri to  this  fort,  a  distance  of  more  than  twelve  hundred  miles ; 
and,  in  1838,  many  wagons,  heavily  laden,  performed  the  same 
journey. 

During  the  three  years  between  1834  and  1837,  the  men  left  by 
Mr.  Ashley  in  the  country  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains  collected 
and  sent  to  St.  Louis  furs  to  the  value  of  more  than  one  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand  dollars ;  this  enterprising  man  then  retired  from 
the  trade,  and  sold  all  his  interests  and  establishments  to  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Company,  at  the  head  of  which  were  Messrs.  Smith, 
Jackson,  and  Sublette,  persons  not  less  energetic  and  determined. 


368 


TRADINO     EXPEDITION     Or    PILCHB*. 


[1886. 


These  traderi  carried  on  for  many  years  an  eztenaive  and  profit- 
able bufineM,  in  the  course  of  which  they  traversed  every  part 
of  the  country  about  the  southern  branch  of  the  Columbia,  and 
nearly  the  whole  of  continental  California.  Unfortunately,  how- 
ever, they  made  no  astronomical  observations,  and,  being  unac- 
quainted with  any  branch  of  physical  science,  very  little  information 
has  been  derived  through  their  means.  Smith,  after  twice  crossing 
the  continent  to  the  Pacific,  was  murdered,  in  the  summer  of  1829, 
by  the  Indians  north-west  of  the  Utah  Lake. 

These  active  proceedings  of  the  Missouri  fur  traders  roused 
the  spirit  of  the  North  American  Company,  which  also  extended  its 
operations  beyond  the  'Rocky  Mountains,  though  no  establishments 
were  formed  by  its  agents  in  those  countries ;  and  many  expeditions 
were  made,  in  the  same  direction,  by  independent  parties,  of  whose 
adventures,  narratives,  more  or  less  exact  and  interesting,  have  been 
published.  In  1827,  Mr.  Pilcher  went  from  Council  Bluffs,  on  the 
Missouri,  with  forty-five  men,  and  more  than  a  hundred  horses ;  and, 
having  crossed  the  great  dividing  chain  of  mountains  by  the  South- 
ern Pass,  he  spent  the  winter  on  the  Colorado.  In  the  following 
year,  he  proceeded  to  the  Lewis  River,  and  thence,  northwardly, 
along  the  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  on  their  western  side,  to 
the  Flathead  Lake,  near  the  47th  degree  of  latitude,  which  he 
describes  as  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  formed  by  the  expansion  of 
the  Clarke  River,  in  a  rich  and  extensive  valley,  surrounded  by  high 
mountains.  There  he  remained  until  the  spring  of  1829,  when 
he  descended  the  Clarke  to  Fort  Colville,  an  establishment  then 
recently  formed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  on  the  northern 
branch  of  the  Columbia,  at  its  falls ;  and  thence  he  returned  to  the 
United  States,  through  the  long  and  circuitous  route  of  the  Upper 
Columbia,  the  Athabasca,  the  Assinaboin,  Red  River,  and  the  Upper 
Missouri.  The  countries  thus  traversed  by  Mr.  Pilcher  have  all 
become  comparatively  well  known  from  the  accounts  of  subsequent 
travellers ;  but  very  little  information  had  been  given  to  the  world 
respecting  them  before  the  publication  of  his  concise  narrative.'**' 
The  account  of  the  rambles  of  J.  O.  Pattie,  a  Missouri  fur  trader, 
through  New  Mexico,  Chihuahua,  Sonora,  and  California,  published 
in  1832,  throws  some  light  on  the  geography  of  parts  of  those 
countries  of  which  little  can  as  yet  be  learned  from  any  other 
source.  During  his  peregrinations,  Pattie  several  times  crossed  the 
great  dividing  chain  of  mountains  between  New  Mexico  on  the 

*  Fubrwhsd  with  President  Jacknn'i  menage  to  Congreat,  January  23d,  1629. 


1884.] 


PLANS    or    WTBTH    rOR  THE    OMOON   TIUOE. 


859 


eait,  and  Sonora  and  California  on  the  weit,  and  deicended  and 
aacended  the  Colorado,  and  iti  principal  tributariei,  which  he  de- 
scribes as  being  navigable  by  boats  for  considerable  distances.  He 
also  made  trips  across  Sonora  to  the  Californian  Gulf,  and  across 
California  to  the  Pacific,  as  well  as  through  the  Mexican  provinces 
on  the  coasts  of  that  ocean,  where  ho  suflered  imprisonment  and 
many  other  hardships  from  the  tyranny  of  the  authorities. 

In  1833,  Captain  Bonneville,  of  the  army  of  the  United  States, 
while  on  furlough,  led  a  band  of  more  than  a  hundred  men,  with 
twenty  wagons,  and  many  horses  and  mules,  carrying  merchandise 
from  Missouri  to  the  countries  of  the  Colorado  and  the  Columbia, 
in  which  he  passed  more  than  two  years,  engaged  in  hunting,  trap- 
ping, and  trading.* 

About  the  same  time.  Captain  Wyeth,  of  Massachusetts,  en- 
deavored to  establish  a  regular  system  of  commercial  intercourse 
between  the  states  of  the  Union  and  the  countries  of  the  Columbia, 
to  which  latter  the  general  name  of  OREGON  then  began  to  be 
universally  applied  in  the  United  States.  His  plan,  like  that  devised 
by  Mr.  Astor  in  1810,  was  to  send  manufactured  goods  to  the 
Pacific  countries,  and  from  thence  to  transport  to  the  United  States, 
and  even  to  China,  not  only  furs,  but  also  the  salmon  which  abound 
in  the  rivers  of  North- Western  America.  With  these  objects,  he 
made  two  expeditions  over  land  to  the  Columbia,  in  the  latter  of 
which  he  founded  a  trading  post,  called  Fort  Hall,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Snake  or  Lewis  branch  of  that  river,  at  the  entrance  of 
the  Portneuf,  about  a  hundred  miles  north  of  the  Utah  Lake ;  and 
he  then  established  another  post,  principally  for  fishing  purposes,  on 
Wappatoo  Island,  near  the  confluence  of  the  Willamet  River  with 
the  Columbia,  a  hundred  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  latter. 
This  scheme,  however,  failed  entirely.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany's agents  immediately  took  the  alarm,  and  founded  a  counter 
establishment,  called  Fort  Boise,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Bois6  or 
Read's  River  into  the  Lewis,  some  distance  below  Fort  Hall,  where 
they  offered  goods  to  the  Indians  at  prices  much  lower  than  those 
which  the  Americans  could  afford  to  lake ;  and  Wyeth,  being  thus 
driven  out  of  the  market,  was  forced  to  compromise  with  his  op- 
ponents, by  selling  his  fort  to  them,  and  engaging  to  desist  from  the 

•  The  narrative  of  this  expedition,  written  from  the  notes  of  Captain  Bonneville, 
by  Washington  Irving,  in  the  vein,  half  serious,  half  jocope,  of  Fray  Agapida's 
Chronicle,  contains  some  curious,  though  generally  overcharged,  pictures  of  life 
among  the  hunters,  trappers,  traders,  Indians,  and  grisly  bears,  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains; but  it  adds  very  little  to  our  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  those  regions. 


360 


AMERICAN   TRADERS    IN    CALIFORNIA. 


[1834. 


fur  trade.  Meanwhile,  a  brig,  which  he  had  despatched  from 
Boston,  with  a  cargo  of  goods,  arrived  at  Wappatoo  Island,  where 
she,  after  some  further  arrangements  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, took  in  a  cargo  of  salted  salmon,  for  the  United  States. 
She  reached  Boston  in  safety ;  but  the  results  of  her  voyage  were 
not  such  as  to  encourage  perseverance  in  the  enterprise,  which  was 
thereupon  abandoned.* 

The  American  traders,  being  excluded  by  these  and  other  means 
from  the  Columbia  countries,  confined  themselves  almost  entirely  to 
the  regions  about  the  head-waters  of  the  Colorado  and  the  Utah 
Lake,  where  they  formed  one  or  two  small  establishments ;  though 
they  sometimes  extended  their  rambles  westward  to  the  Sacramento, 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  and  Monterey,  where  they  were  viewed 
with  dislike  and  mistrust  by  the  Mexican  authorities.  The  number 
of  citizens  of  the  United  States  thus  employed  in  the  country  west 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  seldom,  if  ever,  exceeded  two  hundred : 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  they  roved  through  the  wilds, 
in  search  of  furs,  which  they  carried,  in  the  summer,  to  certain 
places  of  rendezvous  on  the  Colorado,  or  on  the  Lewis,  and  there 
disposed  of  them  to  the  traders  from  Missouri ;  the  whole  business 
being  conducted  by  barter,  and  without  the  use  of  money,  though 
each  article  bore  a  nominal  value,  expressed  in  dollars  and  cents, 
very  different  from  that  assigned  to  it  in  the  states  of  the  Union.f 

About  the  time  of  Wyeth's  expeditions  also  took  place  the  ear- 
liest emigrations  from  the  United  States  to  the  territories  of  the 
Columbia,  for  tl)e  purpose  of  settlement,  and  without  any  special 
commercial  objects. 

The  first  of  these  colonies  was  founded,  in  1834,  in  the  valley  of 

•  Captain  Wyeth's  expeditions,  though  unprofitable  to  himself,  have  been  rendered 
advantageous  to  the  world  at  large;  for  his  short  memoir  on  the  regions  which  he 
visited,  printed  with  the  report  of  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives  on 
the  Oregon  territory,  in  February,  1835),  affords  more  exact  and  useful  information,  as 
to  their  general  geography,  climate,  soil,  and  agricultural  and  commercial  capabilities, 
than  any  other  work  yet  published.  Wyeth's  movements  are  alao  related  incidentally 
in  the  account  of  Bonneville's  adventures,  and  in  the  interesting  Narrative  of  a  Jour- 
ney across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  &c.,  by  J.  K.  Townsend,  a  naturalist  of  Pliiladelphia, 
published  in  183i). 

t  Thus,  among  the  prices  current  at  the  rendezvous  on  Green  River,  in  the 
summer  of  1838,  we  find  whisky  at  three  dollars  per  pint,  gunpowder  at  six  dollars 
per  pint,  tobacco  at  five  dollars  per  pound,  dogs  (for  food)  at  fifteen  dollars  eoch,  &c. 
Twenty  doUavs  were  frequently  expended  in  rum  and  sugar,  for  a  night's  carouse,  by 
two  or  three  traders,  aflor  the  conclusion  of  a  bargain.  Under  such  circumstances, 
it  may  be  supposed  that  the  price  of  beaver  and  muskrat  skins  was  proportionally 
raised  ;  and  that  a  package,  purchased  for  a  hundred  dollars  on  Green  River,  may  havo 
been  aflerward*  sold  witli  profit  at  St.  Louis  for  twenty. 


1836.] 


AMERICAN  ^SETTLEMENTS    IN    OBSeON. 


361 


the  Willamet  River,  in  which  a  few  retired  servants  of  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  had  already  estabHshed  themselves,  by  per- 
mission of  that  body,  and  were  employed  principally  in  herding 
cattle.  The  Americans,  who  settled  there,  were  mostly  Methodists, 
under  the  direction  of  ministers  of  their  sect;  and  colonies  of 
Presbyterians  or  Congregationalists  were  afterwards  planted  in  the 
Walla- Walla  and  Spokan  countries.  In  all  these  places,  schools 
for  the  education  of  the  natives  were  opened,  and,  in  1839,  a 
printing  press  was  set  up  at  Walla- Walla,  on  which  were  struck 
off  the  first  sheets  ever  printed  on  the  Pacific  side  of  America 
north  of  Mexico.  The  Jesuits  of  St.  Louis  then  engaged  in  the 
labor  of  converting  the  Indians,  in  which  they  appear,  from  their 
own  accounts,  to  have  met  with  extraordinary  success;  but, 
according  to  the  customs  of  that  order,  they  did  not  attempt  to 
form  any  settlements.* 

The  attention  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  had 
been,  in  the  mean  time,  directed  to  the  north-west  coasts,  es- 
pecially by  the  recent  refusal  of  the  Russians  to  allow  Amer- 
ican vessels  to  trade  on  the  unoccupied  parts  north  of  the  lat- 
itude of  54   degrees  40   minutes.     This   refusal   was   based  on 

*  The  first  body  of  American  emigrants  went  by  sea,  under  the  direction  of 
Messrs.  Lee  and  Shepherd,  Methodist  ministers,  who  had  already  visited  those 
countries ;  and  several  other  parties  of  persons  of  the  same  sect  have  since  estab- 
lished themselves  in  the  Willamet  valley,  and  near  the  falls  of  the  great  river. 

The  pioneer  of  the  other  Protestant  sects  was  Mr.  Samuel  Parker,  whose  journal 
of  his  tour  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  though  highly  interesting  and  instructive, 
would  have  been  much  more  so,  had  he  confined  himself  to  the  results  of  his  own 
experience,  and  not  wandered  into  the  regions  of  history,  diplomacy,  and  cosmog- 
ony, in  all  of  which  he  is  evidently  a  stranger.  Upon  the  recommendations  of  Mr. 
Parker,  Messrs.  Spaulding,  Gray,  and  Whitman,  were  sent  out  by  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions, in  1836 ;  and  they  were  followed,  in  1838,  by  Messrs.  Walker,  Eels,  and  Smith, 
■11  of  whom,  with  their  wives,  have  been  since  assiduously  engaged  in  their  benevo- 
lent pursuits  among  the  Indians,  chiefly  those  of  the  middle  regions  of  Oregon.  See 
the  History  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners,  publisheU  at  Boston. 

Some  accounts  of  the  state  of  these  settlements  in  1837  may  be  found  in  the  report 
of  Mr.  W.  Slacum,  who  was  commissioned  by  the  American  government  to  visit  the 
Columbia  countries  in  that  year :  this  paper,  however,  which  was  published  by  order 
of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  in  1838,  is  so  vague  and  inexact  in  its  details,  that 
it  is,  in  most  cases,  calculated  rather  to  confuse  and  mislead  than  to  direct. 

The  Jesuits  De  Smet,  Mengarini,  Point,  and  others,  have,  since  1840,  made  several 
missionary  tours  through  the  Columbia  countries,  in  the  course  of  which  they 
baptized  some  thousands  of  Indians;  they  also  erected  a  church  at  a  place  near 
the  Kullerspelm  Lake,  on  Clarke's  Kiver,  where  the  Blessed  Virgin  appeared  in 
person  to  a  little  Indian  boy,  "whose  youth,  piety,  and  sincerity,"  say  the  good 
fathers,  "joined  to  the  nature  of  the  fact  which  he  related,  forbade  us  to  doubt 
the  truth  of  his  statement." — De  Smtt's  Letters,  published  at  Philadelphia,  in  lii43, 
p.  192. 

46 


309^ 


i>BOCEEDlNaS    OF   THE    BUSSIAN8. 


[1838. 


the  fact  that  the  period  of  ten  years,  fixed  by  the  fourth  article  of 
the  convention  of  1834  between  the  two  nations,  during  which  the 
vessels  of  both  parties  might  frequent  the  bays,  creeks,  harbors,  and 
other  interior  waters  on  the  north-west  coast,  had  expired:  and 
the  Russian  government  had  chosen  to  consider  that  article  as  the 
only  limitation  of  its  right  to  exclude  American  vessels  from  all 
parts  of  the  division  of  the  coast  on  which  the  United  States,  by 
the  convention,  engaged  to  form  no  establishments;  disregarding 
entirely  the  first  article  of  the  same  agreement,  by  which  all  unoc- 
cupied places  on  the  north-west  coast  were  declared  free  and  open 
to  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  both  nations.  The  government  of  the 
United  States  immediately  protested  against  this  exclusion ;  and 
their  plenipotentiaries  at  St.  Petersburg  have  been  instructed  to 
demand  its  revocation.*    To  the  reasons  offered  in  support  of 


*  See  President  Van  Buren's  message  to  Congress  of  December  3d,  1838,  and  the 
accompanying  documents.  The  letters  of  Messrs.  Wtlkins  and  Dallas,  successively 
plenipotentiaries  of  the  United  States  at  St.  Petersburg,  relating  the  particulars  of 
their  negotiations  with  the  Bussian  minister,  will  be  found  very  interesting,  from  the 
luminous  views  of  national  rights  presented  in  them.  The  instructions  of  Mr.  For- 
syth, the  American  secretciry  of  state,  to  Mr.  Dallas,  dated  November  3d,  1837,  are 
also  especially  worthy  of  attention.  After  repeating  the  cardinal  rule  as  to  the  con- 
struction of  instruments,  —  that  they  should  be  so  construed,  if  possible,  as  that  every 
•part  may  stand,  —  he  proceeds  \.o  show  that  the  fourth  article  of  the  convention  of 
April,  1824,  was  to  be  undei  -ood  as  giving  '^permission  to  enter  interior  bays,  &c., 
at  the  mouth  of  which  thert  might  be  establishments,  or  the  shores  of  which  might 
be  in  part,  but  not  wholly,  occupied  by  such  establishments ;  thus  providing  for  a 
case  which  would  otherwise  admit  of  doubt,  as  it  would  be  questionable  whether  the 
bays,  &c.,  described  in  it,  belonged  to  the^r«t  or  the  second  article.  In  no  sense," 
continues  Mr.  Forsyth,  "  can  it  be  understood  as  implying  an  acknowledgment,  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  of  the  right  of  Russia  to  the  possession  of  the  coast 
above  the  latitude  of  54  degrees  40  minutes  north ;  but  it  should  be  taken  in  con- 
nection with  the  other  articles,  which  have,  in  fact,  no  reference  whatever  to  the 
question  of  the  right  of  possession  of  the  unoccupied  parts  of  the  coast.  In  a  spirit 
of  compromise,  and  to  prevent  future  collisions  or  difficulties,  it  was  agreed  that 
no  new  establishments  should  be  formed  by  the  respective  parties  north  or  south  of 
a  certain  parallel  of  latitude,  after  the  conclusion  of  the  agreement ;  but  the  question 
of  the  right  of  possession  beyond  the  existing  establishments,  as  it  subsisted  previous 
to,  or  at  the  time  of,  the  conclusion  of  the  convention,  was  left  untouched.  The 
United  States,  in  agreeing  not  to  form  new  establishments  north  of  the  latitude  of 
54  degrees  and  40  minutes,  made  no  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  Russia  to  the 
possession  of  the  territory  above  that  line.  If  such  admission  had  been  made,  Russia, 
by  the  same  construction  ol  'htf  article  referred  to,  must  have  acknowledged  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  the  terriioiy  south  of  the  line.  But  that  Russia  did  not 
■o  understand  the  article,  is  conclusively  proved  by  her  having  entered  into  a  similar 
agreement  in  a  subsequent  treaty  (1825)  with  Great  Britain,  and  having,  in  fact, 
acknowledged  in  that  instrument  the  rigl.t  of  possession  of  the  same  territory  by 
Great  Britain.  The  United  States  can  only  be  considered  as  acknowledging  the 
right  of  Russia  to  acquire,  by  actual  occupation,  a  just  claim  to  unoccupied  lands 
above  the  latitude  of  51  Hpgrees  40  minutes  north ;  and  even  this  is  a  mere  matter 


1838.] 


.  1  i-i  /  u. 


PHOCEEDINOS    OF    THE    RUSSIANS. 


363 


this  demand,  the  Russian  minister  of  foreign  atfairs,  Count  Nessel- 
rode,  did  not  attempt  to  offer  any  reply,  contenting  himself  limply 
with  declaring  that  his  sovereign  was   not  inclined  to  renew  the 
fourth  article,  as  it  afforded  the  Americans  the  opportunity  of  fur- 
nishing the  natives  on  the  coasts  with  spirituous  liquors  and  fire-arms ; 
though  no  case  was  adduced  in  support  of  that  assertion.     Thus 
the  matter  rests ;  the  American  traders  being  excluded  from  visiting 
any  of  the  coasts  of  the  Pacific  north  of  the  parallel  of  64  degrees 
40  minutes,  on  the  ground  that  those  coasts  are  acknowledged  by 
the  United  States  to  belong  to  Russia,  whilst  the  latter  power,  by 
its  treaty  with  Great  Britain  in  1825,  directly  denies  any  rights, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  to  the  coasts  south  of  that  parallel. 
The  Russian  government  also  refused  the  same  privilege  to  British 
vessels  after  1835,  and  moreover  opposed  by  force  the  exercise  of 
another  privilege  claimed  by  the  British  under  the  treaty  of  1825, 
namely,  that  of  navigating  the  rivers  flowing  from  the  interior  of 
the  continent  to  the  Pacific  across  the  line  of  boundary  therein 
established.     In  1834,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  fitted  out  an 
expedition  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  trading  post  on  the  large 
river  Stikine,  which  enters  the  channel  named  by  Vancouver  Prince 
Frederick's  Sound,  between  the  main  land  and  one  of  the  islands 
of  the  north-west  archipelago  claimed  by  Russia,  in  the  latitude  of 
56  degrees  50  minutes.     Baron  Wrangel,  the  Russian  governor- 
general,  having,  however,  been  informed  of  the  project,  erected  a 
block-house  and   stationed   a  sloop  of  war  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Stikine ;  and,  on  the  appearance  of  the  vessel  bringing  the  men 
and  materials  for  the  contemplated  establishment,  the  British  were 
warned  not  to  attempt  to  pass  into  the  river,  and  were  forced  to 
return  to  the  south.     All  appeals  to  the  treaty  were  ineffectual,  and 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  obliged  to  desist  from  the  prose- 
cution of  the  plan,  after  having,  as  asserted  on  its  part,  spent  more 
than  twenty  thousand  pounds  in  fitting  out  the  expedition.         ,v 


I 

4 


the 
inds 
itter 


of  inference,  as  the  convention  of  1824  contains  nothing  more  than  a  negation  of  tho 
right  of  the  United  States  to  occupy  new  points  within  that  limit.  Admitting  that 
this  inference  was  in  contemplation  of  the  parties  to  the  convention,  it  cannot  follow 
that  the  United  States  ever  intended  to  abandon  the  just  right,  acknowledged  by  the 
first  article  to  belong  to  them,  under  the  law  of  nations ;  that  ia,  to  iVequent  any  part  of 
the  unoccupied  coast  of  Nortii  America,  for  the  purpose  of  fishing  or  trading  with  the 
natives.  All  that  the  convention  admits  is,  an  inferer.je  of  the  right  of  Ruiiia  to 
acquire  possession  by  settlement  north  of  54  degrees  and  40  minutes  north ;  and, 
until  that  possession  is  taken,  the  first  article  of  the  convention  acknowledge!  the 
right  of  the  United  States  to  fish  and  trade,  as  prior  to  its  negotiation." 


364 


AGREEMENT    BETWEEN   THE   BRITISH    AND   RUSSIANS.     [1840. 


^  The  British  government  immediately  demanded  satisfaction,  from 
that  of  Russia,  for  this  infraction  of  the  treaty ;  and,  after  some 
time  spent  in  negotiation  between  the  two  powers,  and  between 
the  two  companies,  it  was  agreed  that  the  part  of  the  continental 
coast  extending  from  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes,  north-> 
ward,  to  Cape  Spenser,  near  the  58th  degree,  which  was  assigned 
to  Russia  by  the  treaty  of  1825,  should  be  leased,  by  the  Russian 
American  Company,  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  for  ten  years 
from  the  1st  of  June,  1840,  at  an  annual  rent,  to  be  paid  in  furs. 
The  difficulty  was  thus  ended,  to  the  advantage  of  all  parties ;  the 
British  gaining  access  to  a  long  line  of  coast,  without  which  the 
adjoining  territories  of  .the  interior  would  have  been  useless,  while 
the  Russians  derive  a  much  greater  amount  from  the  rent  than  they 
could  have  otherwise  drawn  from  the  coast. 

The  charter  of  the  Russian  American  Company  was  renewed,  in 
1839,  for  twenty  years,  without  any  modifications  worthy  of  note. 
The  company  was  then  in  a  prosperous  condition ;  its  operations 
were  daily  extending,  and  the  value  of  its  stock  was  constantly 
increasing. 

The  license,  granted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  1821,  to 
trade,  in  exclusion  of  all  other  British  subjects,  in  the  countries 
owned  or  claimed  by  Great  Britain,  north  and  west  of  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  expired  in  1840 ;  but  another  license,  containing 
some  new  and  important  provisions,  had  been  accorded  by  the 
government,  on  the  30th  of  May,  1 838.*  Thus  the  company  was 
bound,  under  heavy  penalties,  to  enforce  the  due  execution  of  crim- 
inal processes,  by  the  officers  and  other  persons  legally  empowered, 
in  all  its  territories,  and  to  make  and  submit  to  the  government 
such  rules  and  regulations,  for  the  trade  with  the  Indians,  as  should 
be  eflfectual  to  promote  their  moral  and  religious  improvement,  and 
especially  to  prevent  the  sale  and  distribution  of  spirituous  liquors 
among  them.  It  is  moreover  declared,  in  the  grant,  that  nothing 
therein  contained  should  authorize  the  company  to  claim  the  right 
of  trade  in  any  part  of  America,  to  the  prejudice  or  exclusion  of 
the  people  of  "  any  foreign  states "  who  may  be  entitled  to  trade 
there,  in  virtue  of  conventions  between  such  states  and  Great 
Britain  ;  and  the  government  reserves  to  itself  the  right  to  establish 
any  colony  or  province  within  the  territories  included  in  the  grant, 
or  to  annex  any  portion  of  those  territories  to  any  existing  colony 
or  province,  and  to  apply  to  such  colony  any  form  of  civil  govern- 


"  See  both  the  licenseB  in  the  Proofs  and  llluBtrations,  letter  I. 


J8S2.] 


CALIFORNIA    SUBJECT   TQ   MEXICO. 


366 


of 
ide 


)ny 
rn- 


ment,  independent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which  might  be 
deemed  proper.  Whether  this  last  provision  was  introduced  with 
some  special  and  immediate  object,  or  with  a  view  to  future  contin- 
gencics,  no  means  have  as  yet  been  afforded  for  determining.  The 
British  government,  however,  insisted  strongly  on  retaining  the 
above-mentioned  privileges ;  and  it  is  most  probable  that  the 
Columbia  countries  were  in  view  at  the  time,  as  the  remainder 
of  the  territory  included  in  the  grant,  and  not  possessed  by  the 
company  in  virtue  of  the  charter  of  1669,  is  of  little  value  in 
any  way.  .         < 

In  California,  few  events  worthy  of  note  occurred  during  the 
whole  period  of  fifty  years,  from  the  first  establishment  of  Spanish 
colonies  and  garrisons  on  the  west  coasts  of  that  country,  to  the 
termination  of  the  revolutionary  struggle  between  Spain  and  Mex- 
ico. Before  the  commencement  of  the  disturbances,  the  missions 
were,  to  a  certain  extent,  fostered  by  the  Spanish  government,  and 
supplies  of  money  and  goods  were  sent  to  them,  with  regularity, 
from  Acapujco  and  San  Bias ;  but,  after  the  revolution  broke  out, 
these  remittances  were  reduced,  the  missionaries  lost  their  influence 
over  the  natives,  and  the  establishments  fell  into  decay.  Upon  the 
overthrow  of  the  Spanish  power,  in  1822,  California  was  divided 
politically  into  two  territories,  of  whicii  the  peninsula  formed  one, 
called  Lower  California ;  the  other,  or  Upper  California,  embracing 
the  whole  of  the  continental  portion.  By  the  constitution  of  1824, 
each  of  these  territories  became  entitled  to  send  one  member  to  the 
National  Congress  ;  and,  by  subsequent  decrees,  all  the  adult  Indians, 
who  could  be  considered  as  civilized  or  capable  of  reasoning,  (gente 
de  razon,)  were  freed  from  submission  to  their  former  pastors,  had 
lands  assigned  to  them,  and  were  declared  citizens  of  the  republic. 
These  seeming  boons  were,  however,  accompanied  by  the  with- 
drawal of  nearly  all  the  allowances  previously  made  for  the  estab- 
lishments, and  by  the  imposition  of  taxes  and  duties  on  all  imports, 
including  those  from  Mexico.  The  authority  of  the  missionaries 
thus  dwindled  away,  and  those  who  had  been  long  in  the  country 
either  returned  to  Mexico  or  Spain,  or  escaped  to  other  lands :  the 
cultivation  of  the  mission  farms  was  abandoned,  and  the  Indians, 
freed  from  restraint,  relapsed  into  barbarism,  or  sunk  into  the  lowest 
state  of  indolence  and  vice. 

Whilst  the  number  of  civilized  Indians  in  California  was  by  these 
measures  diminished,  the  white  population  was  at  the  same  time 
Romewhat  increased.     Immediately  after,  and  indeed  before,  the 


866 


OALirORNIA   SUBJECT  TO  MEXICO. 


[182a 


overthrow  of  the  Spanish  authority  in  that  country,  its  ports  became 
the  resort  of  foreigners,  especially  of  the  whalers  and  traders  of 
the  United  States,  who  offered  coarse  manufactured  articles  and 
groceries  in  exchange  for  provisions,  and  for  the  hides  and  tallow 
of  the  wild  cattle  abounding  in  the  country.  This  trade  was  at 
first  carried  on  in  the  same  irregular  manner  as  the  fur  trade  with 
the  Indians  on  the  coasts  farther  north ;  as  it  increased,  however, 
it  became  more  systematized,  and  mercantile  houses  were  estab- 
lished in  the  principal  ports.  The  majority  of  the  merchants  were 
foreigners,  English,  French,  or  Americans :  in  their  train  came  shop 
and  tavern-keepers,  and  artisans,  from  various  countries;  and  to 
these  were  added  deserting  seamen  and  stragglers  from  the  Missouri 
and  the  Columbia. 

This  state  of  things  was  by  no  means  satisfactory  to  the  Mexican 
government ;  and  orders  were  given  to  the  commandant-general  of 
Upper  California  to  enforce  the  laws  prohibiting  foreigners  from 
entering  or  residing  in  the  Mexican  territories  without  special  per- 
mission from  the  authorities.  Agreeably  to  these  orders,  a  number 
of  American  citizens  were,  in  1828,  seized  at  San  Diego,  and  kept 
in  confinement  until  1830,  when  an  insurrection  broke  out,  headed 
by  a  General  Solis,  which  they  were  instrumental  in  subduing;  and, 
in  consideration  of  their  services,  they  were  allowed  to  quit  the 
country.  The  trading  expeditions  of  Ashley  and  Smith,  of  which 
accounts  have  been  already  presented,  at  the  same  time  gave  great 
uneasiness  to  the  Mexican  government,  and  were  made  the  subjects 
of  formal  complaints  to  that  of  the  United  States. 

These  circumstances,  with  others  of  the  same  nature  then  occur- 
ring in  Texas,  served  to  delay  the  conclusion  of  treaties  of  limits, 
and  of  amity,  commerce,  and  navigation,  between  the  United  States 
and  Mexico ;  which  were,  however,  at  length  signed  and  ratified, 
so  as  to  become  effective  in  1832.  By  the  treaty  of  limits,  the  line 
of  boundary  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Pacific,  which  was 
settled  between  the  United  States  and  Spain  in  1819,  was  adopted 
as  separating  the  territories  of  the  United  States  on  the  north  from 
those  of  Mexico  on  the  south ;  and  the  latter  power  accordingly 
claims  as  its  own  the  whole  territory  west  of  the  great  dividing 
chain  of  mountains,  as  far  north  as  the  42d  parallel  of  latitude. 

The  Mexican  government  likewise  endeavored  to  prevent  the 
evils  anticipated  from  the  presence  of  so  many  foreigners  in  Cali- 
fornia, by  founding  new  colonies  of  its  own  citizens  in  that  country. 
Criminals  were  to  be  transported  thither ;  but  although  many  were 


1837.] 


RXVOLUTION   IN   OALIf OBMIA. 


367 


It  the 

Icdi- 

mtry. 

were 


thus  sentenced,  few,  if  any,  ever  reached  the  place  of  their  desti- 
nation. A  number  of  persons,  of  various  trades  and  professions, 
were  also  sent  out  from  Mexico  in  1834,  to  be  located  on  the  lands 
of  the  missions  in  California ;  but,  ere  they  reached  those  places, 
the  administration  by  which  the  scheme  was  devised,  had  been 
overthrown,  and  the  new  authorities,  entertaining  different  views, 
ordered  the  settlers  to  be  driven  back  to  their  native  land. 

These  new  authorities  —  that  is  to  say.  General  Santa  Anna  and 
his  partisans  —  determined  to  remodel  the  constitution,  under  which 
Mexico  had  been  governed,  as  a  federal  republic,  since  1824.  What 
other  form  was  to  have  been  introduced  in  its  stead,  is  not  known ; 
for,  in  the  spring  of  1836,  at  the  moment  when  the  change  was 
about  to  be  made,  Santa  Anna  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by 
the  Texans  at  San  Jacinto.  Those  who  succeeded  to  the  helm 
being,  however,  no  less  averse  to  the  federal  system,  it  was  abolished 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  same  year,  and  a  constitution  was  adopted, 
by  which  the  powers  of  government  were  placed  almost  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  general  congress  and  executive,  all  state  rights 
being  destroyed.  This  central  system  was  opposed  in  many  parts 
of  the  republic,  and  nowhere  more  strenuously  than  in  California, 
where  the  people  rose  in  a  body,  expelled  the  Mexican  officers,  and 
declared  that  their  country  should  remain  independent  until  the 
federal  constitution  were  restored.  The  general  government,  on 
receiving  the  news  of  these  proceedings,  issued  strong  proclamations 
against  the  insurgents,  and  ordered  an  expedition  to  be  prepared 
for  the  purpose  of  reestablishing  its  authority  in  the  revolted 
territory;  but  General  Urrea,  to  whom  the  execution  of  this 
order  was  committed,  soon  after  declared  in  favor  of  the  fed- 
eralists, and  the  Californians  were  allowed  to  govern  themselves  as 
they  chose  for  some  months,  at  the  end  of  which,  in  July,  1837, 
their  patriotic  enthusiasm  subsided,  and  they  voluntarily  swore  alle- 
giance to  the  new  constitution. 

Since  that  time,  the  quiet  course  of  things  in  California,  was, 
during  several  years,  disturbed  by  only  one  occurrence  worthy  of 
being  mentioned ;  namely,  the  capture  and  temporary  occupation  of 
Monterey  by  the  naval  forces  of  the  United  States,  under  Commo- 
dore T.  A.  C.  Jones,  of  which  the  following  brief  account  will  suffice. 
This  officer,  while  cruising  on  the  South  American  coast  of  the  Pa- 
cific, received  information  which  led  him  to  believe  that  Mexico  had, 
agreeably  to  a  menace  shortly  before  uttered  by  her  government, 
declared  war  against  the  United  States ;  and,  being  determined 


868 


CAPTUHB   or    MONTERBT  BY   tHE    AMERICANS. 


[184i2. 


to  strike  a  blow  at  the  supposed  enemy,  he  sailed,  with  his  frigate, 
the  United  States,  and  the  sloop  of  war  Cyane,  to  Monterey,  where 
he  arrived  on  the  19th  of  October,  1842.  Having  disposed  his 
vessels  in  front  of  the  little  town,  he  sent  an  officer  ashore,  to 
demand  the  surrender  "  of  the  castle,  posts,  and  military  places, 
with  all  troops,  arms,  and  munitions  of  war  of  every  class,"  in 
default  of  which,  the  sacrifice  of  human  life  and  the  horrors  of 
war  would  be  the  immediate  consequence.  The  commandant 
of  the  place,  astounded  by  such  a  demand,  made  in  a  time  of 
profound  peace,  summoned  his  officers  to  a  council,  in  which  it 
was  decided  that  no, defence  could  be  made:  he  therefore  sub- 
mitted without  delay,  and  the  flag  of  the  United  States  replaced  that 
of  Mexico  over  all  the  public  edifices ;  the  fortifications  were  garri- 
soned by  American  soldiers,  and  the  commodore  issued  a  proclama- 
tion to  the  Californians,  inviting  them  to  submit  to  the  government 
of  the  federal  republic,  which  would  protect  and  insure  to  them  the 
undisturbed  exercise  of  their  religion,  and  all  other  privileges  of 
freemen.  Scarcely,  however,  was  this  proclamation  sent  forth,  ere 
the  commodore  received  advices  which  convinced  him  that  he  had 
been  in  error,  and  that  the  peace  between  his  country  and  Mexico 
remained  unbroken ;  he  had,  therefore,  only  to  restore  the  place  to 
its  former  possessors,  and  to  retire  with  all  his  forces  to  his  ships, 
which  was  done  on  the  31st  of  the  month,  twenty-four  hours  after 
the  surrender.  Thus  ended  an  affair,  the  effects  of  which  have  been 
unfortunately  to  increase  the  irritation  already  existing  in  Mexico 
against  the  United  States,  and  to  render  less  easy  the  adjustment  of 
the  differences  between  the  two  nations.  The  armed  force  in  Cali- 
fornia was  soon  after  considerably  augmented ;  but  it  is  evident  that 
all  the  efforts  of  Mexico  would  be  unavailing  to  retain  those  distant 
possessions,  in  the  event  of  a  war  with  a  powerful  maritime  state. 

In  the  Sandwich  Islands,  a  complete  change  has  taken  place 
since  the  death  of  Tamahamaha.  His  son  and  successor,  Riho 
Riho,  died,  in  1824,  in  London,  whither  he  had  gone,  with  his 
queen,  to  visit  his  brother  sovereign  of  Great  Britain ;  and  he  was 
himself  succeeded  by  Kauikeaouli,  another  reputed  son  of  the  great 
Tamahamaha,  who  ascended  the  throne,  under  the  name  of  Kame- 
hamaha  III.  These  changes  were  all  advantageous  to  the  mission- 
aries from  the  United  States,  many  of  whom  were  domiciliated  in 
the  islands ;  particularly  after  the  conversion  of  Krymakoo,  or  Billy 
Pitt,  the  old  prime  minister,  and  of  Kaahumanu,  the  widow  of  the 
great  Tamahamaha,  who,  after  passing  half  a  century  in  the  con- 


1884. 


MIMIONAmiBf   IW  THE   SANDWICH   ISLAMDI. 


869 


was 

great 

[ame- 

Ission- 

bd  in 

Billy 

)f  the 

con- 


stant practice  of  the  most  beutly  sensuality,  embraced  Christianity 
in  her  old  age,  and  became  a  zealous  and  efficient  protector  of  its 
professors.*  Boki,  the  brother  of  Krymakoo,  a  powerful  chief, 
who  had  accompanied  Riho  Riho  to  England,  and,  on  his  return, 
endeavored  to  obtain  the  sovereignty  of  the  islands,  proved  very 
refractory  and  annoying  to  the  missionaries,  alternately  cooperating 
with  them,  or  setting  them  at  defiance,  according  to  the  dio> 
tates  of  his  ambition.f 

After  the  death  of  Riho  Riho,  Kaahumanu,  first,  and  then  Kinau 
one  of  the  widows  of  the  late  king,  conducted  the  government 
as  regents,  until  1S34,  when  the  young  sovereign  threw  off  all 
restraints,  and,  taking  the  reins  into  his  own  hands,  determined  to 
enjoy  life  like  other  legitimate  princes.  Feasting  and  dancing  in 
the  old  style  were  again  seen  in  the  palace ;  drinking  shops  were 
opened,  distilleries  were  set  up,  and  other  ancient  immoralities 
reappeared,  under  the  immediate  patronage  of  the  court.  But  the 
church  had  become  a  part  of  the  state.  The  chiefs  were  all  nomi* 
nally  Christians ;  the  missionaries  exerted  themselves  to  stem  the 
torrent,  and  they  succeeded.  The  king  was  obliged  to  yield ;  the 
shops  and  distilleries  were  successively  closed,  and  order  and 
decency  resumed  their  reign. 

The  ill  success  of  this  attempt,  on  the  part  of  the  king,  to  free 
himself  from  the  trammels  imposed  by  the  missionaries,  of  course 
increased  their  power ;  which  they  exerted  with  energy,  and  gen- 

*  Krymakoo  died  in  1825,  and  Kaahumanu  in  1832 ;  the  exemplary  manner  in 
which  Uiey  took  leave  of  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  life  is  minutely  described  in  thA 
History  of  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  pp.  175 
and  830. 

t  Boki,  having  been  diaoppointed  in  his  hopes  of  attaining  the  sovereignty  of  his 
country,  sailed,  in  1820,  with  a  number  of  followers,  in  two  vessels,  in  search  ot 
■ome  new  islands,  covered  with  sandal-wood,  which  were  said  to  have  been  die* 
covered  in  the  south-west.  One  of  the  vessels  returned  to  Woahoo ;  of  the  other,  in 
which  Boki  commanded  in  person,  nothing  has  been  since  heard,  except  some 
rumors  that  she  was  blown  up. 

The  London  Quarterly  Review  for  March,  1827,  contains  a  letter  purporting  to 
have  been  written  by  Boki,  at  Woahoo,  to  a  friend  in  London,  expressing  consider- 
able dissatisfaction  with  the  conduct  of  the  American  missionaries,  which  has  given 
those  worthy  persons  much  uneasiness,  and  has  caused  them  to  expend  much  more 
of  virtuous  indignation  and  serious  argument,  in  refuting  the  charges,  than  it 
deserved.  The  letter  is  an  exquisite  morceau  of  orthography  and  style,  and  should 
find  a  place  in  the  Comic  Almanac.  See  the  History  of  the  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  p.  176,  and  Mr.  C.  S.  Stewart's  narrative 
of  his  residence  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  p.  342.  The  latter  work  will  amply 
repay  the  reader  for  the  time  which  he  may  devote  to  it;  not  only  from  the  informa* 
tion  afforded  respecting  the  islands,  but  also  as  exhibiting,  in  the  most  interesting 
manner,  the  workings  of  a  pure  and  enthusiastic  mind. 
47 


370 


CATHOLIC   PRIESTIi   IN   THE    SANDWICH    ISLANDS. 


[1838. 


eially  with  discretion,  for  the  benefit  of  the  community.  They 
employed  every  means  to  keep  the  chiefs  in  what  they  considered 
the  right  path,  and  to  conciliate  the  young.  Schools  were  opened 
wherever  scholars  could  be  found ;  and  the  Bible,  in  the  language 
of  the  islands,  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  all  who  could  read  it. 
Laws  restraining  drunkenness  and  other  vices  were  proposed  to  the 
government  and  adopted:  in  1838,  the  importation  of  spirituous 
liquors  was  prohibited ;  and,  in  1840,  a  written  constitution,  also 
the  work  of  the  missionaries,  exhibiting  much  wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge of  the  world  on  their  part,  was  subscribed  by  the  king  and 
his  principal  nobles. 

In  these  endeavors  *  to  raise  a  barbarous  people  to  civilization, 
and  to  place  their  country  among  Christian  states,  the  American 
missionaries  were  constantly  opposed  and  thwarted  by  their  own 
fellow-citizens  and  the  subjects  of  other  nations,  who  resorted  to 
the  islands  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  or  of  refreshment,  after  long 
and  dangerous  voyages.  The  precepts  of  a  religion  enjoining  self- 
denial  in  all  things  could  not  find  favor  among  such  persons ;  to 
whom  its  apostles  became  objects  of  hatred,  as  the  destroyers  of 
all  their  pleasures.  Bickerings  took  place  between  the  two  par- 
ties :  the  missionaries  were  assaulted  with  sticks,  and  stones,  and 
knives,  all  which  they  fearlessly  confronted,  rather  than  yield  a 
foot  of  the  ground  already  occupied ;  and  the  young  king  was 
daily  subjected  to  complaints  from  sea  captains  and  consuls  on 
the  one  side,  and  to  remonstrances  from  his  spiritual  advisers  on 
the  other.  That  the  latter  carried  their  restrictions  too  far,  con- 
sidering the  circumstances,  there  is  reason  to  believe ;  for,  though 
no  defence  can  be  made  for  the  pYactices  which  they  reprobated, 
yet  many  of  them  can  never  be  prevented  by  means  compatible 
with  the  enjoyment  of  civil  liberty ;  and  it  may  be  neither  prudent 
nor  just  to  set  a  mark  on  all  who  are  guilty  of  them. 

The  American  missionaries  had  to  encounter  greater  difficulties 
from  a  ditTcrent  source.  Other  laborers  entered  the  vineyard.  In 
1827,  two  Roman  Catholic  priests,  Messrs.  Short,  an  Irishman,  and 
Bachelot,  a  Frenchman,  arrived  in  the  islands,  and  engaged  in  the 
conversion  of  the  natives  to  their  form  of  Christianity.  They 
were,  of  course,  regarded  with  unfriendly  eyes  by  the  Protestants, 
and  particularly  by  the  pious  regent  Kaahumanu,  to  whose  faction 
they  were  opposed;  and,  through  her  influence,  they  were  -at 
length,  in  1831,  expelled  from  the  islands,  on  the  grounds  that 
they  were  idolaters,  and  worshipped  the  bones  of  dead  men.     A 


1839.] 


REINSTATEMENT   Or    CATHOLIC    PRIESTS. 


371 


chapel  and  school  were,  nevertheless,  soon  after  opened  at  Hono- 
lulu, by  another  Catholic  priest,  named  Walsh;  and,  in  1838,  Kaa- 
humanu  being  dead,  Messrs.  Bachelot  and  Short  ventured  to  return 
to  the  islands,  from  California,  where  they  had  passed  the  greater 
part  of  the  time,  since  their  expulsion.  They  were  again  ordered 
by  the  government  to  take  their  departure  ;  and,  on  their  refusal, 
were  forcibly  put  on  board  the  vessel  which  brought  them,  and 
thus  sent  away,  notwithstanding  the  protests  made  by  the  consuls 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  on  the  part  of  the  owners 
of  the  vessel,  and  by  the  commanders  of  a  British  and  a  French 
ship  of  war,  which  arrived  at  the  time  in  the  islands.  That  the 
Protestant  missionaries  were  the  instigators  of  this  proceeding,  has 
been  asserted,  though  it  is  denied  by  their  friends;  that  they 
might,  if  they  chose,  have  prevented  it,  there  can,  however, 
be  as  little  doubt,  as  that  they  should  have  done  so,  if  it  were  in 
their  power. 

For  this  act,  which,  besides  being  entirely  at  variance  with  the 
constant  principle  of  Protestantism,  and  the  spirit  of  toleration  now 
so  happily  pervading  the  world,  indicated  extreme  ignorance,  and 
culpable  disregard  of  consequences,  on  the  part  of  those  who 
directed  it,  a  severe  retribution  was  soon  after  exacted.  On  the 
9th  of  July,  1839,  the  French  frigate  Artemise  arrived  at  Hono- 
lulu, and  her  captain,  Laplace,  immediately  demanded  reparation 
for  the  insult  oiTered  to  his  country  and  its  national  religion ;  with 
which  object,  he  required  that  the  Roman  Catholic  worship 
should  be  declared  free  throughout  the  islands,  and  its  professors 
should  enjoy  all  the  privileges  heretofore  granted  to  Protestants ; 
that  the  government  should  give  a  piece  of  ground  for  the 
erection  of  a  Catholic  church;  that  all  Catholics  imprisoned 
on  account  of  their  religion  should  be  liberated ;  and,  finally, 
that,  as  a  security  for  the  performance  of  these  engagements, 
twenty  thousand  dollars  should  be  placed,  and  should  remain,  in 
his  hands.  With  these  demands  the  king  immediately  complied ; 
and,  had  the  French  commander  contented  himself  with  what  he 
had  thus  effected,  his  conduct  would  have  been  blameless  in  the  eyes 
of  all  unprejudiced  men.  But  he  also  required  and  obtained,  that 
the  brandy  and  wines  of  his  country,  the  introduction  of  which, 
as  of  all  other  spirituous  liquors,  was  most  properly  prohibited  by 
law,  should  be  admitted  into  the  islands  on  paying  a  duty  of  not 
more  than  five  per  cent,  on  their  value — an  act,  considering  the 
relative  degrees  of  civilization  of  the  two  parties,  far  more  repre- 
hensible than  that  for  which  he  had  just  before  obtained  atonement 


879 


MISSION    or    HAALIL.BO   AND   MOHAIUM. 


[1848. 


Ckptain  Laplace  also  thought  proper  to  declare  in  •  circular,  that, 
in  case  he  should  attack  Honolulu,  the  American  missionaries 
would  not  enjoy  the  protection  promised  by  him  to  the  people  of 
civilized  nations;  fortunately,  however,  he  had  no  occasion  to 
carry  this  threat  into  execution,  as  it  might  have  productd 
a  most  serious  breach  of  good  understanding  between  his  govero* 
ment  and  that  of  the  United  States. 

Difficulties  about  the  same  time  arose  between  the  government 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands  and  the  British  consul ;  in  consequence 
of  which,  the  king  determined  to  despatch  an  agent  to  the  United 
States,  Great  Britain,  and  France,  in  order  to  obtain,  if  possible, 
a  distinct  recognition,  of  the  independence  of  his  dominions  by 
those  nations,  and  to  make  some  definite  arrangement  for  the 
prevention  of  difficulties  in  future.    With  these  objects,  Timoteo 
Haalileo,  a  young  native  who  had  been  educated  in  the  school  of 
the   missionaries,   and   had   filled   several   important    offices,   waa 
selected  as  the  agent ;  and  he  was  to  be  accompanied  by  Mr.  W. 
Richards,  one  of  the  American  missionaries,  who,  having  distin- 
guished himself,  during  a  long  residence  in  the  islands,   by  hit 
zeal  in  behalf  of  the  people  and   their  government,  had,  with  the 
assent  of  his  brethren,  entered  regulariy  into  the  king's  service. 
They  arrived  in  Washington  in  the  winter  of  1842,  and,  upon 
their  application.  President  Tyler  addressed  a   message  to  Con- 
gress,* in  which,  after  briefly  recapitulating  the  advantages  derived 
by  the  United  States  from  the  Sandwich  Islands,  as  a  place  of 
trade  and  refreshment  for  vessels  in  the  Pacific,  and  alluding  to  the 
desire  mnnifested  by  their  government  to  improve  the  moral  and 
social  condition  of  the  people,   he  declared  that  any  attempt  by 
another  power  to  take  possession  of  the   islands,  colonize  them, 
and  subvert  the  native  government,  could  not  but  create  dissatis- 
faction on  the  part  of  the  United  States ;  and,  should  such  attempt 
be  made,  the  American  government  would  be  justified  in  remon- 
strating decidedly   against    it.     An   American   commissioner  was 
accordingly  despatched  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  charged  to  inquire 
and  report  as  to  the  propriety  of  establishing  diplomatic  relations 
with  their  government ;  and  Messrs.  Haalileo  and  Richards,  after 
some  time  spent  in  the  United  States,  proceeded  to  Great  Brit- 
ain and  France,  where  their  presence  proved  ultimately  useful  in 
bringing  about  the  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulties  which  hqui 
occasioned  their  mission.  "'        >  ' 


J 


Memga  of  Dacember  21it,  1842. 


•?i.* 


1648.]        lANDWIOM    IILAMDI   OOCVriCD  BT  THI   ■MtllH. 


873 


In  the  mean  time,  Lord  Oeorrrn  Paulet,  a  captain  in  the  British 
navy,  arrived  at  Woahoo,  in  February,  1843,  in  the  ship  Caryifort, 
and  demanded  from  the  king  explanation^  with  regard  to  the 
eonduct  of  his  government  towards  the  consul  and  tubjocti  of  hor 
Britannic  majesty.  Not  receivint:;  a  satisfiKtory  answer  within  the 
period  prescribed,  this  officer  tliK  titened,  in  the  event  of  longer 
delay,  to  moke  an  attack  upon  Honolulu  ;  whereupon  the  king,  find- 
ing himself  unable  to  comply  with  the  demands,  or  to  resist  them, 
surrendered  all  the  islands  under  his  dominion  to  Great  Britain, 
until  the  matter  could  be  arranged  between  the  government  of  that 
country  and  the  agents  whom  he  had  already  sent  thither.  The 
British  commander  accordingly  took  possession,  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  conduct  the  administration,  and  issued  various  regulations 
for  the  government  of  the  islands,  until  further  orders  could  be 
received  from  England. 

The  news  of  these  events  created  much  excitement  in  the 
United  States ;  and  a  protest  against  the  occupation  of  the  Sand- 
wich Islands  by  Great  Britain  was  immediately  addressed  by  the 
American  government  to  the  court  of  London.  On  the  25th  of 
June,  however,  the  British  minister  at  Washington  declared 
officially,  that  the  acts  of  Lord  George  Paulct  were  entirely  un- 
authorized by  her  majesty;  conformably  with  which,  King  Kameha- 
maha  was,  on  the  3lst  of  July,  reinstated  in  all  his  powers  and  dig- 
nities by  Admiral  Thomas,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  British 
naval  forces  in  the  Pacific.  Finally,  on  the  28th  of  November,  a 
declaration  was  signed  at  London,  on  the  parts  of  the  queen  of 
England  and  the  king  of  the  French,  whereby  their  majesties  «  en- 
gaged reciprocally  to  consider  the  Sandwich  Islands  as  an  inde- 
pendent state,  and  never  to  take  possession,  either  directly,  or  un- 
der the  title  of  protectorate,  or  under  any  other  form,  of  any  part 
of  the  territory  of  which  they  are  composed." 

These  acts  of  the  British  and  the  French,  with  regard  to  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  arose,  doubtless,  rather  from  political  jealousy,  on 
the  parts  of  those  nations,  than  from  the  simple  desire  to  protect 
their  subjects  in  trade  or  religion.  The  French  have  shown  their 
anxiety  to  obtain  a  permanent  footing  on  the  Pacific,  by  their  at- 
tempts to  form  a  colony  in  New  Zealand,  by  their  military  occupa- 
tion of  the  Washington  or  North  Marquesas  Islands  and  their  forci- 
ble seizure  of  Otaheite,  and  by  various  other  circumstances ;  whilst 
the  British  have  evinced  their  determination  to  counteract  those 
efforts  by  others  equally  unequivocal.    To  either  of  these  nations  the 


374 


BBITISH    OCCUPY   THE   FALKLAND    ISLANDS. 


[1834. 


Sandwich  Islands  would  prove  a  most  valuable  acquisition,  as  it 
would  afford  the  means  of  controlling  the  trade  and  fishery  of  the 
North  Pacific,  and  of  exercising  a  powerful  influence  over  the 
destinies  of  the  north-west  coasts  of  America  and  California.  The 
United  States,  claiming  the  north-west  coasts,  and  conducting 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  fishery  and  trade  of  the  North  Pacific,  are 
deeply  interested  in  all  that  may  affect  the  independence  of  these 
islands ;  and,  having  neither  the  power  nor  the  will  to  establish 
their  own  authority  over  them  at  present,  it  is  the  policy  and  duty 
of  their  government  to  oppose,  at  almost  any  hazard,  the  attempts 
of  other  nations  to  acquire  dominion  or  influence  in  this  important 
archipelago. 

It  will  be  proper  here  also  to  notice,  as  connected  with  the  history 
and  probable  destinies  of  North- West  America,  the  fact  of  the  oc- 
cupation of  the  Falkland  Islands  by  Great  Britain,  in  1833.  After 
the  overthrow  of  the  Spanish  supremacy  in  America,  these  islands 
were  claimed  by  the  government  of  Buenos  Ayres,  as  having 
formed  part  of  the  territory  under  the  direction  of  the  viceroy 
of  La  Plata ;  and  attempts  were  made  by  that  government  to 
exercise  dominion  over  them,  which  produced,  in  1831,  a  collision 
between  its  authorities  and  the  naval  forces  of  the  United  States. 
In  the  month  of  January,  1833,  the  British  took  possession  of  the 
whole  group,  which  they  have  ever  since  occupied  ;  and,  a  repre- 
sentation on  the  subject  having  been  addressed  to  that  government, 
by  the  diplomatic  agent  of  Buenos  Ayres  at  London,  Lord  Pal- 
merston,  the  British  secretary  for  foreign  affairs,  in  reply,  main- 
tained"* the  exclusive  right  of  his  nation  to  the  islands,  on  the 
ground  of  first  discovery  and  occupation  —  thus  entirely  disre- 
garding the  sixth  article  ot  the  Nootka  convention  of  1790, 
according  to  which,  no  settlement  could  be  made,  either  by  Great 
Britain  or  by  Spain,  on  any  part  of  the  coasts  of  South  America 
or  the  islands  adjacent,  '<  situated  to  the  south  of  those  parts  of 
the  same  coasts,  and  of  the  islands  adjacent,  which  are  already 
occupied  by  Spain,"  although  his  government  had,  in  1827 
supported  the  subsistence  of  that  convention  with  respect  to  the 
north-west  coasts  of  North  America. 

In  1841,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  the  coasts  of  Oregon  and 
California,  were  visited  by  the  exploring  ships  of  the  United 
States,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  Charles  Wilkes,  who 

*  Letter  from  Lord  Palmerston  to  Senor  Moreno,  dated  January  8th,  1834.  See 
Memoir,  historical,  political,  and  descriptive,  on  the  Falkland  Islands,  by  Robert 
Greenhow,  published  in  the  New  York  Merchants'  Magazine  for  February,  1842. 


1842.] 


EXPLORING   TOTAGE   OF   WILKES. 


376 


had  been  specially  directed  to  survey  and  examine  those  countries, 
as  carefully  as  circumstances  would  permit.  Lieutenant  Wilkes,  in 
the  sloop  of  war  Vincennes,  arrived  off  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia, 
on  the  27th  of  April ;  but,  finding  it  hazardous  to  attempt  the 
entrance,  he  sailed  to  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  anchored  in  Puget's 
Sound,  near  Nasqually,  a  post  belonging  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  from  which  he  despatched  several  surveying  parties  into 
the  interior.  One  of  these  parties  crossed  the  great  westernmost 
range  of  mountains  to  the  Columbia ;  and,  having  visited  the  British 
trading  posts  of  Okinagan,  Colville,  and  Walla- Walla,  returned  to 
Nasqually.  Another  party  proceeded  southward  to  the  Cowelitz, 
and  down  that  river  to  the  main  trunk  of  the  Columbia,  which  was 
examined  upwards  as  far  as  Walla- Walla,  and  downwards  to  the 
ocean.  In  the  mean  time,  other  parties  were  engaged  in  surveying 
the  coasts  and  harbors  on  the  Pacific,  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and 
Admiralty  Inlet,  and  particularly  in  exploring  the  valleys  of  the 
Willamet  River,  emptying  into  the  Columbia,  and  of  the  Sacra- 
mento, falling  into  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  which  are  perhaps  the 
most  valuable  portions  of  Oregon  and  California.  The  perform- 
ance of  these  important  duties  was  accompanied  by  an  unfortunate 
occurrence.  The  sloop  of  war  Peacock,  one  of  the  exploring 
vessels,  commanded  by  Lieut.  William  L.  Hudson,  struck  on  the 
!jar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  wliile  attempting  to  enter  that 
river,  on  the  18th  of  July,  and  was  lost ;  her  crew,  however,  in 
consequence  of  the  perfect  discipline  maintained  on  board,  were 
all  landed  in  safety,  with  her  instruments  and  papers,  on  Cape  Dis- 
appointment, where  they  were  received,  and  treated  with  the 
utmost  hospitality,  by  tlie  agents  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
residing  in  the  vicinity.* 

•  The  exploring  squadron,  consisting  of  the  sloops  of  war  Vincennes  and  Pea- 
cock, store-ship  Relief,  brig  Porpoise,  and  schooners  Sea-Gull  and  Flying-Fish, 
sailed  from  the  Chesapeake  on  the  lOth  of  August,  1838,  and  passed  around  Cape 
Horn,  where  several  months  were  employed  in  exploring,  and,  unfortunately,  the 
Sea-Gull  was  lost,  with  all  on  board.  Lieutenant  Wilkes  then  crossed  the  Pacific  to 
Australia,  south  of  which,  he,  in  January,  J  840,  discovered  a  line  of  rocky,  ice-bound 
coast,  extending  nearly  under  the  Antarctic  circle,  from  the  92d  to  the  165th  degrees 
of  longitude  east  from  London ;  that  is,  about  1800  miles.  Thence  he  proceeded 
northward,  surveying  many  groups  of  islands  and  intricate  channels  hitherto  im- 
perfectly known,  to  the  coast  of  Oregon,  whore  he  spent  the  summer  of  1841,  as 
above  stated ;  and,  having  completed  his  work,  lie  returned,  with  his  vessels,  through 
the  India  seas,  and  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to  the  United  States,  where  he 
arrived  in  June,  1842.  The  southernmost  point  attained  was  in  the  Pacific,  south- 
south-west  of  Cape  Horn,  in  latitude  of  70  degrees  14  minutes,  that  is,  farther  south 
than  any  navigator,  except  Cook  and  Weddell  had  previously  penetrated ;  it  was 
reached  on  the  24th  of  March,  1630,  by  Lieut.  W.  M.  Walker,  commnnding  the 
Flying-Fish. 


376 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 


1842  TO  1846. 


Ezeitement  in  the  United  States  respecting  Oregon  —  Bill  in  the  Senate  for  the  im« 
mediate  Occupation  of  Oregon  —  That  Bill  inconsistent  with  the  Conventioa  of 
1827,  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  —  Renewal  of  Negotiations  be- 
tween the  United  States  wd  Great  Britain  —  Emigration  from  the  United  States 
to  Oregon -~  State  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Possessions — Conclusion. 


During  the  latter  years  of  the  period  to  which  the  preceding 
chapter  relates,  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States 
were  becoming  seriously  interested  in  the  subject  of  the  claims  of 
the  republic  to  countries  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  had 
so  long  remained  undetermined.  The  population  of  the  Union 
had,  in  fact,  been  so  much  increased,  that  large  numbers  of  per- 
tions  were  to  be  found  in  every  part,  whose  spirit  of  enterprise  and 
ndventure  could  not  be  restrained  within  the  limits  of  the  states 
and  organized  territories;  and,  as  the  adjoining  central  division 
of  the  continent  oflfered  no  inducements  to  settlers,  those  who 
did  not  choose  to  fix  their  habitations  in  Texas,  began  to  direct 
their  views  towards  the  valleys  of  the  Columbia,  where  they  ex- 
pected to  obtain  rich  lands  without  cost,  and  security  under  the 
flag  of  the  stars  and  stripes. 

The  period  had,  in  fact,  arrived,  when  the  countries  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  were  to  receive  a  civilized  population  from  the 
United  States. 

This  feeling  began  to  manifest  itself,  about  the  year  1837,  by 
the  formation  of  societies  for  emigration  to  Oregon,  in  various 
parts  of  the  Union,  and  especially  in  those  which  had  themselves 
been  most  recently  settled,  and  were  most  thinly  peopled.  From 
these  associations,  and  from  American  citizens  already  established 
in  Oregon,  petitions  were  presented  to  Congress,  as  well  as  resolu- 
tions from  the  legislatures  of  states,*  urging  the  general  government 
either  to  settle  the  questions  of  right  as  to  the  country  west  of  th^ 
Rocky  Mountains,  by  definitive  arrangement  with  the  other  claimant, 

*  Nearly  all  these  petitions  and  resolutions  came  fi-om  Indiana,  Illinois,  Missouri, 
and  Michigan. 


1840.]     EXCITEMENT   IN   THE   U.    STATES   RESPEOTINO   OUBOOIT.     377 

or  to  take  immediate  civil  and  military  possession  of  that  country ; 
and  bills,  having  for  their  object  the  accomplishment  of  one  or  both  of 
these  ends,  were  annually  introduced  into  the  Senate  or  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  Union.  The  members  of  the  execi^ve  branch 
of  the  government,  particularly  Messrs.  Forsyth  and  Poinsett,  the 
able  and  energetic  secretaries  of  state  and  of  war,  were  likewise 
assiduously  engaged  in  collecting  information  respecting  the  nature 
and  grounds  of  the  claims  of  the  United  States,  and  the  most 
effective  means  of  enforcing  them,  in  order  that  the  government 
might,  when  necessary,  act  with  vigor  and  certainty,  and  be  justi- 
fied before  the  world.  The  information  thus  obtained  was,  from 
time  to  time,  published,  by  order  of  Congress,  for  the  instruction 
of  the  people  on  points  so  important ;  *  but  no  bill  relating  to  Ore- 
gon was  passed  by  either  house  before  1843,  nor  was  any  decisive 
measure  on  the  subject  adopted  by  the  American  government. 

The  British  government  was,  meanwhile,  not  unmindful  of  iti 
interests  in  the  territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Its  viewi 
and  intentions  were  not  proclaimed  to  the  world  annually,  in  par- 
liamentary speeches  or  executive  reports :  but  the  Admiralty  caused 
the  lower  part  of  the  Columbia  River,  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco, 
and  the  adjacent  coasts  of  the  Pacific,  to  be  carefully  surveyed,  in 
1839,  by  Captain  Belcher ;  f  and  the  Colonial  Office,  and  Board  of 
Trade,  were  in  constant  communication  with  the  governor  and  di- 


*  Among  theie  documenta,  the  principal  are  the  following,  y'lt, :  Report  to  the 
Senate,  with  Maps,  and  a  Bill  for  the  Occjpation  of  Oregon ;  presented  by  Mr.  Linn, 
June  6th,  1838  —  Reports  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Affkiri,  of  the  HouM  of 
Representativea,  respecting  the  Territory  of  Oregon,  with  a  Map,  presented  Jan.  4th 
and  Feb.  16th,  1839,  by  Mr.  Gushing,  accompanied  by  a  bill  to  provide  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  residing  in  that  territory,  or  trading  on 
the  Columbia  River,  and  various  documents  in  proof —  Memoir,  Historical  and  Polit* 
ical,  on  the  North- West  Coast  of  North  America,  and  the  adjacent  Countries,  with  a 
Map  and  a  Geographical  View  of  those  Countries,  by  Robert  Greenhow,  Translator 
and  Librarian  to  the  Department  of  State ;  presented  Feb.  10th,  1840,  by  Mr.  Linn 
(see  Preface  to  this  Histtiry)  —  Report  of  the  Hon.  J.  R.  Poinsett,  Secretary  of  War, 
in  relation  to  the  establishment  of  a  line  of  Military  Posts  from  the  Missouri  River  to 
the  Columbia,  1840  —  Report  of  the  Military  Committee  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, on  the  Subject  of  the  Occupation  and  Defence  of  the  Columbia  Countries} 
presented  by  Mr.  Pendleton,  May  25th,  1842. 

t  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  round  the  World,  performed  in  her  Majesty's  Ship  Sul- 
phur, during  the  Tears  1836—1842,  by  Captain  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  R.  N.  This 
large  and  expensive  work,  though  very  amusing  to  the  general  reader,  abounds  in 
misstatements  and  inconsistencies,  and  contains  scarcely  a  single  fiict  or  observation 
of  importance  with  regard  to  the  different  places  visited.  The  results  of  the  soientifio 
investigations,  especially  the  geographical  positions  of  many  important  points,  which 
were  determined,  doubtless,  with  the  utmost  accuracy  during  the  voyage,  are  omitted, 

48 


■un. 


M 


TREATY  BETWEEN    THE    U.    STATES  AND    G.  BRITAIN.        [1842. 


rectors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  who  possessed  more  accurate 
information,  on  all  subjects  connected  with  North- West  America, 
than  could  be  procured  from  any  other  source.  The  British  gov- 
ernment ipd  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  have,  indeed,  always 
acted  in  concert ;  and,  except  in  a  few  cases,  the  measures  thus 
devised  could  be  carried  into  immediate  execution  without  previous 
reference  to  parliament.  Beyond  the  precincts  of  the  colonial 
office,  and  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  house,  no  one  in  England  seems  to 
have  taken  the  slightest  interest  in  any  thing  connected  with  the 
regions  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

In  the  spring  of  1842,  Lord  Ashburton  arrived  at  Washington, 
as  minister  extraordinary  from  Great  Britain,  with  instructions  and 
powers  to  settle  certain  questions  of  difference  between  the  two 
nations  ;  and  it  was,  at  first,  generally  supposed,  in  the  United 
States,  and,  indeed,  in  Great  Britain,  that  the  establishment  of 
boundaries  on  the  Pacific  side  of  America  would  be  one  of  the 
objects  of  his  mission.  A  treaty  was,  however,  concluded,  in 
August  of  that  year,  between  him  and  Mr.  Webster,  the  secretary 
of  state  of  the  United  States,  in  which  all  the  undetermined  parts 
of  the  line  separating  the  territories  of  the  two  powers,  on  the 
Atlantic  side  of  America,  were  defined  and  settled  ;  but  no  allu- 
sion was  made  to  any  portion  of  the  continent  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Lord  Ashburton  had,  indeed,  been  "  furnished  with 
specific  and  detailed  instructions  relative  to  the  treatment  of  this 
point  of  difference  between  the  two  governments  ; "  *  and  the  ques- 
tion was  discussed  by  the  plenipotentiaries,  as  declared  in  the 
following  passage  of  President  Tyler's  message  to  Congress  at 
the  opening  of  the  session,  on  the  7th  of  December,  1842: 
"  In  advance  of  the  acquisition  of  individual  rights  to  these 
lands,  [west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,]  sound  policy  dictates  that 
every  effort  should  be  resorted  to,  by  the  two  governments,  to  set- 
tle their  respective  claims.  It  became  evident,  at  an  early  hour 
of  the  late  negotiations,  that  any  attempt,  for  the  time  being,  satis- 
factorily to  determine  those  rights,  would  lead  to  a  protracted 
discussion,  which  might  embrace  in  its  failure  other  more  pressing 
matters  ;  and  the  executive  did  not  regard  it  hs  proper  to  waive  all 
the  advantages  of  an  honorable  adjustment  of  other  difficulties,  of 
great  magnitude  and  importance,  because  this,  not  so  immediately 
pressing,  stood  in  the  way.  Although  the  difficulties  referred  to 
may  not,  for  several  years  to  come,  involve  the  peace  of  the  two 

"  Letter  from  Lord  Alierdeen  to  Mr.  Fox,  October  18,  1842. 


1842.]       BILL    IN   THE    U.    S.    SENATE    FOR    OCCUPYING    OREGON.     379 

countries,  yet  I  shall  not  delay  to  urge  on  Great  Britain  the  impor- 
tance of  its  early  settlement."  The  treaty  was  ratified  and  defini- 
tively confirmed  by.  both  governments ;  the  exclusion  of  the  Oregon 
question  from  it,  however,  increased  the  excitement  respecting  that 
country  in  the  United  States,  and  an  excitement  on  the  same  subject 
was  soon  after  created  in  Great  Britain. 

The  part  of  the  president's  message  above  quoted  was  referred 
to  the  committees  on  foreign  affairs  in  both  houses  of  Congress ; 
and,  a  few  days  afterwards,  Mr.  Linn,  one  of  the  senators  from 
Missouri,  who  had  always  displayed  the  strongest  interest  with  re- 
gard to  the  territories  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  had 
assiduously  endeavored  to  effect  their  incorporation  into  the 
republic,  brought  a  bill  into  the  Senate  for  the  occupation  and 
settlement  of  the  territory  of  Oregon,  and  for  extending  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  over  it.  This  bill  proposed  that  the  presi- 
dent cause  to  be  erected,  at  suitable  places  and  distances,  a  line 
of  forts,  not  exceeding  five  in  number,  from  points  on  the  Missouri 
and  Arkansas  Rivers,  to  the  best  pass  for  entering  the  valley  of  the 
Columbia,  and  also  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  that  river;  that  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  be  granted  to  every  white  male 
inhabitant  of  Oregon,  of  the  age  of  eighteen  years  and  upwards, 
who  shall  cultivate  and  use  them  for  five  years,  or  to  his  heirs  at 
law,  in  case  of  his  decease,  with  an  addition  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  for  his  wife,  and  the  same  for  each  of  his  children  under 
the  age  of  eighteen  years ;  that  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of 
Iowa  be  extended  over  the  countries  stretching  from  that  territory, 
and  from  the  states  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  over  all  countries  west  of  those  mountains,  between  the 
42d  and  the  49th  parallels ;  and  that  justices  of  the  peace  be 
appointed  for  those  countries,  as  now  provided  by  law  for  Iowa, 
who  shall  have  power  to  arrest  and  commit  for  trial  all  offenders 
against  the  laws  of  the  United  States ;  provided  that  any  subject 
of  Qreat  Britain,  who  may  have  been  so  arrested  for  crimes  or 
misdemeanors  committed  in  the  countries  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  while  they  remain  free  and  open  to  the  people  of 
both  nations,  shall  be  delivered  up  to  the  nearest  or  most  conve- 
nient British  authorities,  to  be  tried  according  to  British  laws. 

This  bill,  it  will  be  seen,  contained  nearly  the  same  provisions  as 
that  which  had  been  discussed  in  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
the  session  of  1828-29,*  with  the  addition  of  the  promise  of  grants 


See  p.  355. 


|$8i)      DKBATC   IN  THE   SClfATB   OF   THK   V.   i.   ON   OREGbN.      [184^. 


6f  Itltid  to  the  settlers,  after  a  certain  period  of  occupancy.  The 
diebaies  upon  it  were  continued  for  several  days,  during  which  it  was 
defended  and  opposed  by  the  most  eminent  men  bf  both  political 
parties ;  the  Senators  from  the  Western  States  of  the  Uhion  being 
generally  in  favor  of  it,  and  those  from  the  Atlantic  portions  of  the 
republic  against  it. 

The  bill  was  defended,  generally,  on  the  grounds  that  its  adop- 
tion would  be  the  exercise,  by  the  United  States,  of  rights  which 
#ere  unquestionable,  and  had  been  long  unjustly  withheld  from 
them  by  Great  Britain ;  and  that,  taking  this  for  granted,  it  afforded 
the  best  means,  in  all  Respects,  of  making  good  those  rights,  and 
securing  to  the  republic  the  ultimate  possession  of  the  territories 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  must  otherwise  fall,  or  rather 
remain  irretrievably,  in  the  hands  of  another  power.  The  United 
States,  it  was  contended,  had  been  deprived  of  the  privileges  of  the 
joint  occupancy,  secured  to  them  in  the  convention  of  1827,  by  the 
encroachments  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which,  under  the 
direct  protection  of  tho  British  government,  had  taken  actual  pos- 
session of  the  whole  territory  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
had  within  a  few  years  founded  farming  establishments,  on  a  large 
scale,  from  which  provisions  were  exported,  in  considerable  quan- 
tities, to  the  Russian  settlements  and  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Great 
Britain  was  there  employing  the  same  policy  and  mechanism,  of  a 
great  trading  company,  by  means  of  which  she  had  made  her  way 
to  the  dominion  of  India.  She  already  practically  occupied  all  that 
she  ever  claimed  south  and  north  of  the  Columbia  ;  and  her  agents 
had  directly  avowed  that  she  would  not  give  up  the  establishments 
which  she  had  encouraged  her  subjects  to  form  there.  The  felling 
of  forests,  the  construction  of  regular  habitations,  the  fencing  in  of 
fields,  the  regular  improvement  of  the  soil,  the  fitting  up  of  mills 
and  Workshops,  and,  added  to  all  these,  the  erection  of  forts  to 
protect  them,  as  had  been  done  by  the  British,  in  Oregon,  meant 
something  more  than  was  provided  by  the  existing  convention^  and 
were  intended  to  constitute  a  lasting,  and,  of  course,  exclusive  occu- 
pation of  the  places  thus  appropriated.  The  bill  does  not  pretend 
to  define  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  or  to  dispossess  Great 
Britain  of  what  she  now  holds,  but  merely  to  do  what  she  '■.^^ 
herself  dor.?.  She  has  extended  the  jurisdiction  of  her  courts  over 
Oregon  ;  the  United  States  must  do  the  same  ;  and  if  a  conflict  of 
jurisdictions  ensue,  the  question  of  definitive  possession  will  only  be 
determined  the  sooner.     Meanwhile,  provision  should  be  made  for 


1843.]      DEBATE    IN   THE    SENATE    Of   THE   V.  S.    ON    OREGON.       381 


the  rights  of  American  citizens  to  the  lands  which  they  might  oc- 
cnpy.  The  grants  proposed  in  the  bill  are  only  prospective.  Citizens 
of  the  Union  are  invited  to  settle  in  Oregon,  and,  after  they  have 
resided  there  five  years,  certain  portions  of  land  are  to  be  allotted 
to  them  :  within  that  time  the  questions  of  right  to  the  territory 
will  have  been  determined,  and  if  those  who  have  anted  on  the  faith 
of  the  invitation  do  not  then  receive  the  advantages  promised,  their 
government  will,  of  course,  be  bound  to  indemnify  them. 

The  opponents  of  the  bill  differed  in  their  views  of  the  whole, 
and  of  each  separate  provision  ;  but  they  agreed  in  regarding  the 
proposed  granting  of  lands  in  Oregon  to  American  citizens  as  an 
infraction  of  the  Convention  of  1827  with  Great  Britain,  agreeably 
to  which  neither  government  could  legally  do  any  thing  calculated 
to  divest  the  people  of  the  other  party  of  the  enjoyment  of  the 
common  freedom  of  the  countries  in  question  ;  and  with  many  this 
formed  the  sole  ground  of  their  objection.  Some  were  unfavorable 
to  any  action  upon  the  subject  of  Oregon  at  the  time,  as  being  cal- 
culated to  defeat  the  very  object  in  view,  by  hastening  a  conclusion 
before  the  United  States  were  in  a  condition  to  render  it  favorable 
to  them ;  while  others  regarded  the  country  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains  as  of  no  value,  in  comparison  with  the  difficulties  and 
expenses  which  would  be  occasioned  by  the  attempt  to  occupy  it 
at  any  period.  If  the  bill  should  become  a  law,  the  United  States 
must  be  prepared  to  maintain  and  execute  all  its  provisions ;  and 
Great  Britain,  though,  like  the  United  States,  directly  interested  in 
the  continuance  of  peace,  would,  if  she  viewed  the  measures  in 
question  as  an  infringement  of  the  v":onvention,  stand  upon  that 
point,  when  she  might  not  stand  upon  the  value  of  the  territory. 

By  some  senators,  the  right  of  the  republic  to  the  whole  region 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  as  far  north  as  the  49th  parallel  of 
latitude,  was  made  to  rest  chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  on  the  acquisition 
of  Louisiana,  of  which  that  region  was  declared  to  form  part,  and 
the  supposed  settlement  of  limits  by  commissaries,  under  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht ;  others  presented  the  Spanish  claims,  transferred  to  the 
United  States  by  the  Florida  treaty,  as  the  strongest  grounds  of  the 
right ;  and  others,  again,  depended  principally  on  the  discoveries 
and  settlements  of  American  citizens.  The  territory  was  described 
by  some  as  possessing  every  quality  of  soil  and  climate  which 
should  render  its  possession  desirable  ;  while  others  regarded  it  as 
a  desert,  utterly  without  value  in  any  way,  and  which  no  American 
citizen  should  be  condemned  to  occupy  except  as  a  punishment. 


382       DEBATES    IN   THE    SENATE    OF    THE    U.    S.    ON    OREGON.     [1843. 

-^  The  observations  of  Mr.  Calhoun  on  the  subject  attracted  par- 
ticular attention  throughout  the  United  States,  and  in  Europe.  He 
believed  the  possession  of  the  Columbia  countries  to  be  important 
to  the  United  States  in  many  respects,  and  was  ready  to  maintain 
and  exercise  all  the  rights  possessed  by  the  republic,  conformably 
with  the  existing  convention  of  1827.  He  was  disposed  to  extend 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  government  over  them,  and  to  go  as  far  in 
every  way  as  Great  Britain  had  gone  :  but  he  could  find  nothing,  in 
the  proceedings  of  that  power,  of  equal  force  or  extent  with  the 
grant  of  lands  promised  by  this  bill ;  between  which  and  immediate 
grants  he  could  see  no  distinction  as  to  their  force  in  binding  the 
United  States  to  assunie  possession  of  the  territory.  He  could  not 
but  anticipate  a  rupture  of  the  peace  with  Great  Britain,  if  the  bill 
should  pass  with  this  provision  ;  and  he  conceived  that  the  occu- 
pation of  Oregon  should  not  be  thus  attempted,  prematurely,  at  the 
risk  of  a  war  with  the  most  powerful  nation  on  earth.  "  If  Great 
Britain  should  resist  our  attempt,  it  would  be  unsuccessful,  and  the 
territory  be  lost.  There  is  only  one  means  by  which  it  can  be  pre- 
served to  us ;  but  that  fortunately  is  the  most  powerful  of  all.  Time 
is  acting  for  us ;  and  if  we  shall  have  the  wisdom  to  trust  to  its 
operation,  it  will  assert  and  maintain  our  right,  with  resistless  force, 
without  costing  a  cent  of  money  or  a  drop  of  blood.  There  is  often, 
in  the  affairs  of  government,  more  efficiency  and  wisdom  in  non- 
action than  in  action  ;  all  that  we  want,  to  effect  our  object  in  this 
case,  is  a  '  wise  and  masterly  inactivity  J  Our  population  is  rolling 
towards  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  with  an  impetus  greater  than  we 
can  realize.  It  will  soon  reach  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  be 
ready  to  pour  into  the  Oregon  territory,  which  will  thus  come  into 
our  possession  without  resistance  or  struggle  ;  or,  if  there  should 
be  resistance,  it  would  be  feeble  and  ineffectual." 

* 

To  the  objections  thus  made  to  his  bill,  Mr.  Linn  replied  at 
length,  dwelling  on  the  great  importance  of  the  Oregon  countries ; 

—  on  the  vast  extent  of  lands,  on  the  Columbia  and  its  tributary 
streams,  which  were  said  to  exceed  in  productiveness  any  in  the 
states  of  the  Union ;  and  on  the  number  and  excellence  of  the 
harbors  on  those  coasts,  the  use  of  which  was  imperatively  required 
by  the  American  whaling  vessels  employed  in  the  adjacent  ocean  ; 

—  on  the  facility  with  which  trave!  and  transportation  might  be 
effected,  across  the  continent,  by  means  of  ordinary  roads  at  pres- 
ent and  by  railroads  hereafter:  and  he  produced  a  number  of 
letters,  reports,  and  other  documents,  from  various  sources,  con- 
firmine  all  these  statements.     Finally,  he  appealed  to  the  honor 


1843.]       CONSIDERATIONS   ON   THE    CONVENTION   OF    1827. 


383 


and  generosity  of  the  nation,  for  its  protection  to  the  American 
citizens  already  established  in  Oregon,  who  had  gone  thither  in 
confidence  that  such  aid  would  be  extended  to  them,  and  were 
groaning  under  the  oppressions  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.* 

Previous  to  the  final  vote,  Mr.  Archer  endeavored  to  have  the 
clause  respecting  the  grants  of  lands  struck  out ;  but  his  motion 
did  not  prevail,  and  on  the  3d  of  February,  1843,  the  bill  was 
passed  by  the  Senate,  twenty-four  being  for  and  twenty-two 
against  it.  It  was  immediately  sent  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, in  which  a  report  against  its  passage  was  made  by  Mr. 
Adams,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  on  foreign  affairs ;  the 
session,  however,  expired  without  any  debate  on  the  subject  in 
that  House. 

In  order  to  determine  whether  the  bill  for  the  occupation  of 
Oregon,  passed  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  1843,  could, 
if  it  had  become  a  law,  have  been  carried  into  fulfilment  without  a 
breach  of  public  faith,  until  after  the  abrogation  of  the  existing 
convention  with  Great  Britain,  in  the  manner  therein  stipulated,  it 
will  be  necessary  first  to  analyze  that  convention,  and  to  reduce 
the  various  permissions,  requirements  and  prohibitions,  involved  in 
it,  to  their  simplest  expressions.  The  two  nations,  on  agreeing, 
as  by  that  convention,  to  leave  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  with  its  waters,  free  and  open  to  the  citizens  and 
subjects  of  both,  of  course  agreed  that  neither  should  exercise 
any  exclusive  dominion,  or  do  any  thing  calculated  to  hinder  the 
people  of  the  other  from  enjoying  the  promised  advantages  in  any 
part  of  that  territory.  Each  nation,  of  course,  reserved  to  itself 
the  right  to  provide  for  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  the  admin- 
istration of  justice  among  its  own  citizens,  and  to  appoint  agents 
for  that  purpose :  it  was,  indeed,  the  duty  of  each,  as  a  civilized 
power,  to  do  so  without  delay ;  and  it  was  morally  imperative  upon 
them  to  enter  into  a  supplementary  compact  for  the  exercise  of 
concurrent  jurisdiction,  in  cases  affecting  the  persons  or  interests 
of  subjects  or  citizens  of  both,  unless  provision  to  that  effect 
should  have  already  been  made  in  some  other  way.  Finally,  as 
the  country  was  inhabited  by  tribes  of  savages,  the  citizens  and 
subjects  of   each  of    the  civilized  nations  residing  therein  might 


r  of 


*  This  was  destined  to  be  the  last  cflfort  of  Mr.  Linn  for  the  advancement  of  the 
cause  to  which  he  had  so  long  devoted  his  powerful  energies.  He  expired  on  the 
3d  of  October,  1843,  at  his  residence  in  St.  Genevieve,  Missouri,  without  warning, 
and  probably  without  a  struggle. 


384 


CONSIDEBATIONB    ON   THE    CONVENTION    OF    1827.        [1843. 


take  precaution!  for  their  defence  against  attacki  from  thow 
savages,  by  military  organization  among  themselves,  and  by  the 
erection  of  the  fortifications  necessary  for  that  special  purpose; 
and  it  here  again  became  the  duty  of  the  contracting  parties  to 
settle  by  compact  the  manner  in  which  their  governments  might 
jointly  or  separately  aid  their  people  in  such  defence. 

As  the  advantages  offered  to  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  two 
nations  are  not  defined,  the  terms  of  the  convention  relating  to 
them  are  to  be  understood  in  their  most  extensive  favorable  sense ; 
including  the  privileges,  not  only  of  fishing,  hunting,  and  trading 
with  the  natives,  but  also  of  clearing  and  cultivating  the  ground, 
and  using  or  disposing  of  the  products  of  such  labor  in  any 
peaceful  way,  and  of  making  any  buildings,  dams,  dikes,  canals, 
bridges,  roads,  &c.,  which  the  private  citizens  or  subjects  of  the 
parties  might  make  in  their  own  countries  ;  under  no  other  restric- 
tions or  limitations  than  those  contained  in  the  clause  of  the  cct.- 
vention  providing  for  the  freedom  and  openness  of  the  territoay 
and  waters,  or  those  which  might  be  imposed  by  the  respective 
governments. 

This  appears  to  be  the  amount  of  the  permissions,  requirements, 
and  prohibitions,  of  the  convention  ;  and,  had  the  two  governments 
done  all  that  is  here  demanded,  no  difiiculties  could  have  been 
reasonably  apprehended  —  so  long,  at  least,  as  the  territory  in  ques- 
tion remains  thinly  peopled.  These  things,  howevti,  have  not  all 
been  done ;  not  only  has  no  supplementary  compact  been  made 
between  the  two  nations,  but  the  government  of  the  United  States 
has  neglected  to  secure  the  protection  of  their  laws  to  their  citi- 
zens, who  have  thus,  doubtless,  in  part,  been  prevented  from 
drawing  advantages  from  the  convention  equal  to  those  long  since 
enjoyed  by  British  subjects,  under  the  security  of  the  prompt  and 
efficient  measures  of  their  government. 

If  this  view  of  the  existing  convention  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  relative  to  the  territory  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  be  correct,  and  embrace  all  its  permissions  and 
prohibitions,  neither  of  the  parties  could  be  justified,  during  the 
subsistence  of  the  agreement,  in  ordering  the  erection  of  forts  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  where  they  certainly  are  not  required 
for  protection  against  any  third  power,  and  in  promising  to  secure 
large  tracts  of  land  in  that  territory,  by  patent,  to  its  citizens  or 
subjects.  Had  the  bill  passed  by  the  Senate  in  1843  become  a 
law,  the  convention  would  from  that  moment  have  been  virtually 


1648.]    DEBATE    IN   THE   BHITISH   PARLIAMENT   ON    OMBQON.  MB 

and  violently  rescinded ;  and  any  attempt  to  enforce  the  meaiuroi 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  resisted  by  Great  Britain.  The 
abrogation  of  the  convention,  in  the  manner  therein  provided,  or 
in  some  other  way,  by  common  consent  of  tlie  parties,  should 
precede  all  attempts,  by  either,  to  occupy  any  spot  in  the  territory 
permanently ;  and  whenever  the  government  of  either  nation 
considers  the  time  to  be  near,  in  which  such  occupation,  by  its  own 
citizens  or  subjects,  will  be  indispensable,  it  should  endeavor  to 
settle,  by  negotiation  with  the  other  power,  some  mode  of  effecting 
that  object,  before  giving  notice  of  its  intention  to  abrogate  the 
agreement ;  for  such  a  notice  can  only  be  regarded  as  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  determination  of  the  party  giving  it  to  take 
forcible  possession  of  the  territory  at  the  end  of  the  term. 

The  reports  of  the  debates  in  the  American  Senate  on  the  bill 
for  the  occupation  of  Oregon,  reached  England  while  the  treaty, 
recently  concluded  at  Washington,  was  under  consideration  in 
Parliament ;  and  they  did  not  fail  to  elicit  some  observations  in 
the  House  of  Commons.  Lord  Paimerston,  the  late  secretary  for 
foreign  affairs,  and  then  leader  of  the  opposition,  pronounced 
that,  if  the  bill  should  pass,  and  be  acted  on,  it  would  be  equiva- 
lent to  a  declaration  of  war,  as  it  would  be  the  invasion  and 
seizure  of  a  territory  in  dispute,  by  virtue  of  a  decree  made  by 
one  of  the  parties  in  its  ntvn  favor.  Mr.  Macaulay,  who  had  been 
the  secretary  of  war  under  the  previous  administration,  con- 
ceived that  the  fact  of  the  passage  of  such  a  bill  by  the  Senate, 
a  body  comprising  among  its  members  a  large  portion  of  the  men 
of  the  greatest  weight  and  most  distinguished  ability  in  the  United 
States,  showed  a  highly-excited  condition  of  the  public  mind  in 
that  country.  Mr.  Blewitt  quoted  the  words  of  one  of  the 
senators  in  the  debate,  as  being  a  most  violent  attack  on  England : 
and  he  regarded  the  mode  in  which  the  matter  had  been  dealt 
with  in  the  Senate  as  an  insult  to  his  nation.  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
the  premier,  in  answer,  simply  stated,  that  communications  of 
a  friendly  nature,  on  the  subject  of  Oregon,  were  then  going 
on  between  the  two  governments,  a  proposition  having  been 
addressed  to  the  United  States,  for  considering  the  best  means  of 
effecting  a  conciliatory  adjustment  of  the  questions  respecting 
those  territories ;  and  that,  if  the  bill  introduced  into  the  American 
Senate  had  passed  both  Houses  of  Congress,  it  would  not  have 
received  the  sanction  of  the  executive,  which  had  given  assur- 
ances of  its  anxiety  to  settle  those  questions  by  negotiation. 
49 


386 


CMIORATlOlf  raOM  THC   U.   STATES  TO  ORIOOir.       [1843. 


This  last  declaration  from  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  confirmed  by  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  in  his  message  sent  to  Congress  on 
the  6th of  December  following;  and,  in  February,  1844,  the  Hon- 
orable Richard  Pakenham  arrived  in  Washington,  as  minister  pleni- 
potentiary from  Great  Britain,  with  full  instructions  to  treat  for  a 
definitive  arrangement  of  the  disputed  points  relative  to  the  coun- 
tries west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.* 

In  the  mean  time,  the  excitement  in  the  United  States  with  re- 
gard to  the  immediate  occupation  of  Oregon,  as  well  as  the  difficul- 
ties of  effecting  an  amicable  arrangement  of  the  questions  with  Great 
Britain  respecting  that  country,  had  increased  and  become  more 
general.  In  each  year  since  1838,  small  parties  of  emigrants  had  set 
out  from  Missouri  for  the  Columbia ;  but  they  had  suffered  so  much 
on  their  way,  from  hunger,  thirst,  fatigue,  and  a  dread  of  Indians, 
that  few  had  reached  the  place  of  their  destination,  and  those  who 
returned  to  the  United  States  gave  accounts  of  their  expeditions  by 
no  means  calculated  to  induce  others  to  follow  them.  On  exam- 
ining these  accounts,  however,  it  appeared  that  in  all  cases  the  par- 
ties had  been  insufficient  in  numbers,  or  were  not  provided  with  the 
requisite  supplies,  or  were  guided  and  commanded  by  incompetent 
persons ;  besides  which,  nothing  like  an  assurance  of  protection,  after 
they  should  have  made  their  settlements,  was  afforded  by  their  gov- 
ernment. On  the  faith  of  the  promise  of  such  protection,  held  out 
by  the  passage  through  the  Senate  of  the  bill  for  the  immediate 
occupation  of  Oregon,  a  thousand  persons,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, assembled  at  Westport,  near  the  Missouri  River,  on  the  fron- 
tier of  the  state  of  Missouri,  from  which  they  began  their  march  to 
Oregon,  with  a  large  number  of  wagons,  horses,  and  cattle,  in  June, 
1843.t  They  pursued  the  route  along  the  banks  of  the  Platte, 
and  its  northern  branch,  which  had  been  carefully  surveyed  in  the 
preceding  year  by  Lieutenant  Fremont,  of  the  United  States  army,f 
to  the  South  Pass,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  thence  through  the 
valleys  of  the  Green  and  Bear  Rivers  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Compa- 
ny's post,  called  Fort  Hall,  on  the  Lewis ;  and  thence,  in  separate 
parties,  to  the  Willamet  valley,  where  they  arrived  in  October.  Their 
journey,  of  more  than  two  thousand  miles,  was,  of  course,  laborious 
and  fatiguing ;  they  were  subjected  to  many  difficulties  and  priva- 
tions, and  seven  of  their  party  died  on  the  way,  from  sickness 

*  Sir  Robert  Peel's  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons,  February  5th,  1844. 
t  See  the  interesting  report  and  map  of  Lieutenant  Fremont,  published  by  order  of 
the  Senate,  in  the  spring  of  1843. 


1844.] 


▲MBBIOAN   BMIOMATION  TO   OBBOON. 


887 


or  accident.  Their  numberi  and  their  diicipline,  however,  enabled 
them  to  let  at  defiance,  the  Sioux  and  the  Blackfeet,  those  Tartan 
of  the  American  Steppea,  who  could  only  gaze  at  a  distance,  no 
doubt  with  wonder,  at  the  crowd  of  pale-faces,  leaving  the  aunny 
valleys  of  the  MisRigsippi  for  the  rugged  wilds  of  the  Columbia. 
The  difficulties  of  tho  journey  proved  to  be,  on  the  whole,  much 
less  than  had  been  anticipated,  even  by  the  most  sanguine  partisans 
of  the  immediate  occupation  of  Oregon ;  and  the  success  of  the 
expedition,  induced  a  still  larger  number  to  follow  in  1844,  before 
the  end  of  which  year,  tho  number  of  American  citizens  in  that 
region  exceeded  three  thousand.  They  established  themselves,  for 
the  most  part,  in  the  valley  of  the  Willamet,  and  other  valleys 
south  of  the  Columbia,  where  they  soon  laid  out  counties,  founded 
towns,  and  formed  a  provisional  government,  on  a  republican  basis, 
with  its  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  branches  properly  de- 
fined, adopting  the  laws  of  tho  territory  of  Iowa,  as  the  basis  of 
their  jurisprudence.  The  first  meeting  of  the  legislature  took  place 
at  Oregon  city,  near  the  falls  of  the  Willamet,  on  the  24th  of 
May,  1844;  and  several  laws  were  passed,  one  of  which,  pro- 
hibiting the  manufacture  or  introduction  of  spirituous  liquors,  was 
instantly  enforced,  by  the  destruction  of  a  distillery.  Acts  were 
also  passed,  for  the  imposition  of  taxes,  and  for  the  assignment  of  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land,  to  each  person  who  should  make 
improvements  of  a  permanent  character  thereon,  and  continue  to 
occupy  them. 

Of  the  Americans  who  emigrated  to  Oregon,  many  afterwards 
proceeded  to  California,  whither  large  numbers  also  went  direct 
from  the  United  States,  either  overland,  or  by  sea  around  Cape 
Horn.  The  greater  part  of  those  who  devote  themselves  to  agri- 
culture, settled  in  the  valley  of  the  Sacramento,  north  of  the  Bay  of 
San  Francisco,  where  an  extensive  tract,  called  New  Helvetia,  is 
held  by  a  Swiss,  named  Sutter,  under  a  grant  from  the  Mexican 
government ;  the  others  distributed  themselves  through  the  towns 
on  the  coast,  in  which  they  form  the  majority  of  the  commercial 
population.  The  revolutions  which  frequently  convulse  Mexico 
are  necessarily  felt  in  California,  where  their  principal  efiect  is  to 
paralyze  exertion  among  the  native  ln!>abitants,  and  to  encourage 
the  foreigners,  especially  the  Americans,  who  see  in  each  struggle, 
an  additional  assurance  that  the  country  will,  ere  long,  be  annexed 
to  the  United  States.    Each  new  party,  on  arriving  at  power  in 


388 


AMERICANS   IN   CALIFORNIA. 


[1844. 


Mexico,  generally  issues  a  decree  for  the  expulsion  of  the  Americans 
from  California ;  which  decrees  the  governor  of  the  department  is 
obliged  to  content  himself  with  proclaiming,  as  it  would  be  mad- 
ness in  him  to  attempt  to  enforce  them,  whilst  he  is  obliged  to 
depend  almost  entirely  upon  the  obnoxious  strangers,  for  defence 
gainst  the  neighboring  Indians.  In  the  political  disturbances 
which  annually  occur  between  the  Mexican  authorities  and  the 
partisans  of  independence,  the  Americans  seldom  engage,  and 
when  they  do,  it  is  usually  on  the  side  of  the  government ;  though 
their  rifles  are  occasionally  seen  gleaming  from  the  ranks  of  both 
pcrties.  To  record  the  particulars  of  these  insurrections,  would  be 
to  pre&pnt  a  tedious  detail  of  squabbles,  without  object  or  result— 
of  marches  without  encounter  —  of  bombastic  orders  and  proclama- 
tions —  and  of  conventions,  which  neither  party  meant  to  observe,  or 
believed  that  the  other  would  observe,  for  a  single  hour  after  their 
conclusion. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  been  doing 
all  in  its  power  to  extend  and  confirm  its  position,  in  the  countries 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  which,  its  governors  felicitated 
themselves  with  the  idea  that  they  had  expelled  the  Americans  en- 
tirely ;  and  as  the  fur  trade,  hitherto  the  great  object  of  that  asso- 
ciation, was  declining,  from  the  diminution  in  the  value  of  the  furs, 
as  well  as  in  the  number  of  animals  producing  them,  other  modes 
had  been  adopted  for  the  employment  of  capital  in  those  regions. 
Establishments  were  formed  for  taking  and  curing  the  salmon  which 
abound  in  the  rivers,  for  cutting  and  sawing  timber,  for  raising 
cattle  and  sheep,  and  for  the  cultivation  of  grain ;  and  persons 
were  introduced  from  Canada,  and  from  Europe,  to  be  employed 
in  these  various  ways.  Capital  thus  invested  could,  however,  yield 
but  slender  returns,  and  no  other  means  for  its  application,  are 
ofTered  in  the  countries  of  the  Columbia,  or  farther  north.  These 
countries,  indeed,  embrace  several  tracts  of  land,  of  moderate 
extent,  which  may  afford  to  the  industrious  cultivator  not  only 
subsistence,  but  also  the  enjoyment  of  those  foreign  luxuries,  which 
are  now  considered  among  the  necessaries  of  life  :  but  they  contain 
no  precious  metals,  so  far  as  known  ;  nor  do  they  produce  any  of 
the  valu>'ble  articles  of  commerce,  such  as  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  cotton, 
rice,  and  opium  ;  nor  are  they,  like  India,  inhabited  by  a  numerous 
population,  who  may  be  easily  forced  to  labor,  for  the  benefit  of  a 
few.   It  was  moreover  evident  that  none  of  the  above-mentioned  ad- 


1844.]        Hudson's  bat  company's  ststeh  in  oreqon. 


S89 


vantages  could  be  derived,  in  full  extent,  so  long  as  the  sovereignty 
of  the  territory  remained  in  abeyance,  and  no  one  could  acquire  the 
proprietorship  of  any  portion  of  the  soil.  The  object  of  the  com- 
pany was,  therefore,  to  place  a  large  number  of  British  subjects  in 
Oregon,  within  the  shortest  time,  and  of  course  to  exclude  from  it 
as  much  as  possible  all  people  of  the  United  States ;  so  that  when 
the  period  for  terminating  the  convention  with  the  latter  power 
should  arrive,  Great  Britain  might  be  able  to  present  the  strongest 
title  to  the  possession  of  the  whole,  on  the  ground  of  actual  occu- 
pation, by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  To  these  ends,  the  eflbrts 
of  that  company  had  been  for  some  time  directed.  The  immigra- 
tion of  British  subjects  was  encouraged;  the  Americans  were 
by  all  means  excluded  ;  and  the  Indians  were  brought  as  much  as 
possible  into  friendship  with,  and  subjection  to,  the  company,  while 
they  were  taught  to  regard  the  people  of  the  United  States  as 
enemies. 

In  its  treatment  of  the  aborigines  of  these  countries,  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  admirably  combined  and  reconciled  humanity 
with  policy.  In  the  first  place  its  agents  were  all  strictly  prohibited 
from  furnishing  them  with  ardent  spirits ;  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  prohibition  has  been  carefully  enforced.  Schools 
for  the  instruction  of  their  children,  and  hospitals  for  their  sick, 
were  established  at  all  the  principal  trading  posts  ;  each  of  which, 
moreover,  offered  the  means  of  employment,  and  support  to  Indians 
disposed  to  work,  in  the  intervals  between  the  hunting  seasons. 
Missionaries  of  various  sects  were  encouraged  to  endeavor  to  con- 
vert these  people  to  Christianity,  and  to  induce  them  to  adopt  the 
usages  of  civilized  life,  so  far  as  might  be  consistent  with  the  nature 
of  the  labors  in  which  they  are  engaged  ;  care  being  at  the  same 
time  taken  to  instil  into  their  minds  due  respect  for  the  company, 
and  for  the  sovereign  of  Great  Britain :  and  attempts  were  made,  at 
great  expense,  though  with  little  success,  to  collect  them  into  vil- 
lages, on  tracts  where  the  soil  and  climate  are  favorable  to  agricul- 
ture. Particular  care  was  also  extended  to  the  education  of  the 
half-breed  children,  the  offspring  of  the  marriage  or  the  concubinage 
of  the  traders  with  the  Indian  women,  who  were  retained  and  bred 
as  much  as  possible  among  the  white  people,  and  were  taken  into 
the  service  of  the  company,  whenever  they  were  found  capable. 
There  being  few  white  women  in  those  territories,  it  is  evident  that 
these  half-breeds  must,  in  time,  form  a  large,  if  not  an  important. 


d90       Hudson's  bat  company's  treatment  or  Indians.     [1844. 

portion  of  the  inhabitants ;  and  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  their 
being  adopted  and  recognized  as  British  subjects. 

The  conduct  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  these  respects,  is 
worthy  of  commendp»»on ;  and  may  be  contrasted  most  favorably 
with  that  pursued  at  the  present  day,  by  civilized  people,  towards 
the  aborigines  of  all  other  new  countries.    It  is,  however,  to  be  ob- 
served, that  of  the  whole  territory  in  the  possession  of  or  used  by 
that  body,  only  a  few  isolated  portions,  of  no  great  extent,  are  capa- 
ble of  being  rendered  productive  by  agriculture ;  the  remainder 
yielding  nothing  of  value,  but  furs,  which  can  be  obtained  in  greater 
quantities,  and  at  less  cost,  by  the  Indians,  than  in  any  other  way. 
There  was,  consequently,  no  object  in  expelling  or  destroying  the 
natives,  who  occupied  no  land  required  for  other  purposes,  and 
could  never  be  dangerous  from  their  numbers  ;  whilst,  on  the  con- 
trary, there  was  a  direct  and  evident  motive  of  interest,  to  preserve 
and  conciliate  them,  for  which  objects  the  course  pursued  by  the 
company  was  best  adapted.     By  the  system  above  described,  the 
natural  shyness  and  distrust  of  the  savages  have  been  in  a  great 
measure  removed  ;  the  ties  which  bound  together  various  tribes, 
and  even  the  members  of  those  tribes,  have  been  loosened ;  and 
extensive  combinations,  for  any  purpose,  have  become  impossible. 
The  dependence  of  the  Indians  upon  the  company  was,  at  the 
same  time,  rendered  entire  and  absolute ;  for,  having  abandoned 
the  use  of  all  their  former  arms,  hunting  and  fishing  implements, 
and  clothes,  they  could  no  longer  subsist,  without  the  guns,  ammuni- 
tion, fish-hooks,  blankets,  and  other  similar  articles,   which  they 
received  from  the  British  traders,  and  from  them  only.     The  posi- 
tion of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  toward  these  people,  was  thus 
wholly  different  from  that  of  the  Americans  towards  the  Indians, 
who  inhabited  the  fertile  regions  east  of  the  Mississippi ;  or  of  the 
British  settlers  in  Australia,  New  Zealand,  or  South  Africa,  to- 
wards the  natives  of  those  countries ;  or,  it  may  be  added,  of  the 
East  India    Company,   towards  the  Chinese :  the   first-mentioned 
body,  being  as  much  interested   in  preventing  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits  among  the  aborigines  of  its  territories,  as  the  East  India  Com- 
pany could  be  in  encouraging  the  consumption  of  opium  in  the 
Celestial  Empire.  . 

The  course  pursued  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  with  regard 
to  American  citizens  in  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
was  equally  unexceptionable,  and  equally  politic.     The  missionaries 


1844.]  Hudson's  bat  company's  treatment  or  amerioani.    391 

and  emigrants  from  the  United  States,  or  from  whatever  country  they 
might  come,  were  received  at  the  establishments  of  the  company 
with  the  utmost  kindness,  and  were  aided  in  the  prosecution  of 
their  respective  objects,  so  far  and  so  long  as  those  objects  were 
not  commercial ;  but  no  sooner  did  any  person,  unconnected  with 
the  company,  attempt  to  hunt,  or  trap,  or  trade  with  the  Indians, 
than  all  the  force  of  the  body  was  turned  against  him.  There  is  no 
evidence  or  reason  to  believe,  that  violent  measures  were  ever  em- 
ployed, either  directly  or  indirectly,  for  this  purpose ;  nor  would 
such  means  have  been  needed,  whilst  the  company  enjoys  advan- 
tages over  all  competitors,  such  as  are  afforded  by  its  wealth,  its 
oiganization,  and  the  skill  and  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  of  the 
natives,  possessed  by  its  agents.  Wherever  an  American  post  has 
been  established,  or  an  American  party  has  been  engaged  in  trading 
on  the  Columbia,  an  agent  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  soon 
appeared  in  the  same  quarter,  with  a  large  amount  of  specie  or  of 
merchandise,  which  were  given  to  the  Indians  for  furs,  on  terms 
much  lower  than  those  offered  by  the  Americans ;  and  the  latter, 
thus  finding  their  labors  vain,  were  soon  obliged  to  retire  from  the 
field.  In  the  same  manner,  the  company  succeeded  in  preventing 
American  vessels  from  obtaining  cargoes  on  the  coasts ;  though 
mariners  of  all  nations,  when  driven  thither  by  shipwreck  or  other 
misfortunes,  uniformly  received  shelter  and  protection,  at  its  forts 
and  factories. 

In  these  proceedings  with  regard  to  American  citizens,  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  did  no  more  than  they  were  entitled  to  do.  If 
the  Americans  neglected,  or  were  unable,  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
benefits  secured  to  both  nations  by  the  convention,  the  fault  or  the 
misfortune  was  their  own,  and  they  had  no  right  to  complain. 
The  hospitable  treatment  extended  to  them  by  the  agents  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  doubtless  approved  by  the  directors  of 
that  body ;  and  all  who  know  Messrs.  Macloughlin  and  Douglas, 
the  principal  managers  of  the  affairs  of  that  body  on  the  Colum- 
bia, unite  in  testifying  that  the  humanity  and  generosity  of  those 
gentlemen  have  been  always  carried  as  far  as  their  duties  would  per- 
mit. That  this  conduct  does  not,  however,  meet  with  universal  ap- 
probation among  the  servants  of  the  company  in  that  quarter,  sufH- 
cient  evidence  may  be  cited  to  prove.*    There  are,  it  appears,  two 


•  History  of  the  Oregon  Territory,  and  British  North  American  Fur  Trade,  by 
John  Dunn,  late  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  eight  years  a  Resident  in  the  Coun- 
try.   London :    1844-     Chap.  XII. 


392    Hudson's  bav  company's  treatment  of  Americans.  [1644. 


r^ 


parties  among  the  British  in  Oregon,  the  patriots  and  the  liberals ; 
who,  while  they  agree  in  holding  all  Americans  in  utter  detestation, 
as  knaves  and  ruffians,  yet  differ  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  course 
pursued  with  regard  to  them  by  the  company.  The  patriots  main- 
tain that  the  kindness  shown  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  was 
thrown  away,  and  would  be  badly  requited  ;  that  it  was  merely  nur- 
turing a  race  of  men,  who  would  soon  rise  from  their  meek  and 
humble  position,  as  the  grateful  acknowledgers  of  favor,  to  the  bold 
attitude  of  questioners  of  the  authority  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  her 
rights,  even  to  Fort  Vancouver  itself;  that  "  if  any  attempts  were 
made  for  the  conversion  of  the  natives  to  Christianity,  and  to  their 
adoption  of  more  humanized  institutions,  (which  they  limited  to 
British  institutions,)  a  solid  and  permanent  foundation  should  be 
laid ;  and  for  that  purpose,  if  missionaries  were  to  be  introduced, 
they  should  come  within  the  direct  control  of  the  dominant  power, 
that  is,  the  British  power,  and  should  be  the  countrymen  of  those 
who  actually  occupied  Oregon,"  &c.  The  liberals,  while  admitting 
all  that  was  said  on  the  other  side,  of  the  character  of  the  Americans, 
nevertheless  charitably  opined,  that  those  people  should  not  be  ex- 
cluded, as  they  possessed  some  claims,  "  feeble,  but  yet  existing,"  to 
the  country,  and  until  "  these  were  quashed  or  confirmed,  it  would  be 
unjust  and  impolitic"  to  prevent  them  from  all  possession;  that 
their  missionaries,  though  bad,  were  better  than  none ;  and  that 
"  good  would  grow  out  of  evil  in  the  end,  for  the  Americans,  by 
their  intercourse  with  the  British,  would  become  more  humanized, 
tolerant  and  honest."  " 

Under  suci  circumstance,  it  may  be  supposed  that  the  thousands 
of  citizens  ol  the  United  States  who  entered  Oregon  in  1843,  and 
the  two  succeeding  years,  were  regarded  with  no  very  friendly  feel- 
ings by  the  British.  The  emigrants,  however,  confined  themselves 
chiefly  to  the  countries  south  of  the  Columbia,  where  very  few  of 
their  rivals  were  settled,  and  no  collision  took  place  between 
the  parties  for  some  time.  Dr.  Macloughlin^  the  chief  crfficer  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  the  Columbia  territories,  indeed,  claimed 
possession  of  the  whole  site  of  Oregon  city,  the  capital  of  the  new 
republic,  on  the  pretext  of  first  occupation ;  and  an  attempt  was 
made,  in  1845,  by  some  Americans,  to  erect  a  house  in  token  of  pos- 
session, on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia,  near  Fort  Vancouver, 
which  led  to  some  discussions :  but  no  difficulty  was  anticipated 
from  either  claim. 


1844.] 


PROCeSDINOS   IN   COx.^RESS. 


393 


The  increase  of  American  citizens  in  Oregon  was  noticed  by 
President  Tyler,  in  his  message  at  the  commencement  of  the  session 
of  Congress,  in  December,  1843,  in  which  he  repeated  the  assurance 
thai  every  proper  means*would  be  used  to  bring  the  negotiation  re- 
cently renewed  with  Grelt  Britain  to  a  speedy  termination  ;  and  he 
strongly  recommended  the  immediate  establishment  of  military  posts 
at  places  on  the  line  of  route  to  the  Columbia.  In  the  course  of  the 
session,  each  House  of  Congress  received  various  memorials,  peti- 
tions, and  resolutions,  from  State  legislatures,  all  urging  the  govern- 
ment to  adopt  measures  for  the  immediate  establishment  of  the  right 
of  the  United  States  to  the  countries  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains ; 
and  several  bills  having  in  view  the  same  object  were  introduced 
and  debated,  though  none  of  them  were  passed  by  either  branch  of 
the  federal  legislature.  Of  these  bills,  some  were  nearly  identical 
with  that  which  had  been  passed  by  the  Senate  in  the  preceding 
session  ;  the  others  were  to  the  effect,  that  notice  should  be  immedi- 
ately given  to  the  British  government  of  the  intention  of  the  United 
States  to  terminate  the  convention  of  1827,  in  the  time  and  manner 
therein  provided.  The  debates  were  continued  in  both  houses,  for 
some  time,  embracing  not  only  all  the  questions  connected  with  the 
claim  of  the  United  States  to  Oregon,  but  also  incidentally,  that  re- 
specting the  north-eastern  boundary  of  the  Republic,  which  had  been 
already  settled  by  the  treaty  of  Washington.  The  abrogation  of  the 
convention  was  defended,  as  a  legitimate  and  unexceptionable  means 
of  opening  Oregon  to  American  citizens,  from  which  they  were  now 
wholly  excluded ;  and  as  offering  to  those  desirous  of  emigrating 
thither,  some  guarantee  of  future  protection  by  their  government. 
It  was  opposed  chiefly  on  the  ground  that  a  negotiation  respecting 
the  rights  of  the  two  claimant  powers,  was  about  to  be  opened, 
agreeably  to  an  invitation  from  the  American  government. 

In  the  course  of  the  same  session  of  Congress,  a  treaty  which  had 
been  concluded  between  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Government  of  Texas,  on  the  12th  of  April,  1844,  for  the  annexa- 
tion of  the  latter  Republic  to  the  former,  was  rejected  by  the  Senate 
of  the  Union.  This  rejection,  effected  by  the  votes  of  the  States, 
caused  great  excitement  throughout  the  Union,  especially  in  the 
southern  portions,  to  which  the  annexation  of  Texas  was  supposed 
to  be  most  favorable ;  and  the  feeling  became  stronger  and  more 
general,  when  the  exertions  made  by  the  governments  of  Great 
Britain  and  France  to  prevent  that  measure  became  known. 

50 


804 


BALTIMORE   C0MVCN7I0N. 


[1844. 


Whilst  this  treaty  was  under  consideration  in  the  Senate,  a  con- 
vention of  delegates  of  the  democratic  party  from  nearly  all  the 
States  of  the  Federal  Union,  was  assembled  in  Baltimore,  with  the 
object  of  selecting  from  the  candidates  for  .the  presidency  and  vice- 
presidency  of  the  republic,  those  whom  tRe  party  should  be  recom- 
mended to  support  in  the  ensuing  election.     On  the  meeting  of  this 
body  it  soon  became  evident,  that  none  of  the  persons  whose  names 
had  hitherto  been  most  prominent,  could  receive  the  number  of  votes 
required  to  constitute  an  approval ;  and  that  there  was,  moreover, 
great  danger  of  a  serious  division  of  the  party,  upon  the  question  of 
the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  Union,  to  which  the  delegates  from 
the  northern  States  were  in  general  opposed,  while  those  from  the 
South   were  determined  advocates  of  the  measure.     Under  these 
circumstances,  it  was  agreed,  by  compromise,  to  connect  the  support 
of  the  occupation  of  Oregon  with  that  of  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
in  the  manifesto  of  the  views  of  the  democratic  party  which  was  to 
be  issued ;   and  then  all  the  candidates  first  proposed  being  laid 
aside,  Mr.  James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  and  Mr.  George  M.  Dallas, 
of  Pennsylvania,  were  recommended  respectively  for  the  offices  of 
president  and  vice-president.     Accordingly,  in  the  report  and  reso- 
lutions in  which  those  gentlemen  were  presented  to  the  people,  by 
the  convention  on  the  30th  of  May,  1844,  it  was  also  declared, 
that  "  Our  tide  to  the  whole  of  the  territory  of  Oregon  is  clear  and 
unquestionable  ;  that  no  portion  of  the  same  ought  to  be  ceded  to 
England  or  any  other  power  ;  and  that  the  re-occupation  of  Oregon 
and  the  re-annexation  of  Texas,  at  the  earliest  practicable  period,  are 
great  American  measures  which  this  convention  recommends  to  the 
cordial  support  of  the  democracy  of  the  Union." 

In  the  election  which  took  place  in  October  and  November  fol- 
lowing, Messrs.  Polk  and  Dallas  received  the  required  majority  of  all 
the  votes  of  the  electors ;  and  the  leaders  of  the  democratic  party, 
in  consequence,  considered  and  represented  this  as  a  direct  declara- 
tion by  the  people  of  their  concurrence  with  all  the  resolutions  of  the 
Baltimore  Convention,  including,  of  course,  that  for  the  re-occupation 
of  Oregon  and  the  re-annexation  of  Texas. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  session  of  Congress  in  December, 
1844,  President  Tyler  stated  in  his  message,  that  a  negotiation  had 
been  formally  begun,  and  was  pending,  between  the  secretary  of  state 
and  her  Britannic  majesty's  minister  plenipotentiary,  relative  to  the 
rights  of  the  respective  nations  to  Oregon.    The  report  of  the  secre- 


1844.] 


PROCEEDIKOS   IN  CONGRESS. 


395 


tary  of  war,  accompanying  this  message,  contained  a  recommenda- 
tion, for  the  establishfiient  of  a  territorial  government  over  the  region 
traversed  by  the  river  Platte,  between  the  States  of  Missouri  and 
Arkansas  on  the  east,  and  the  Rocky  Mountains  on  the  west,  and 
for  the  formation  of  military  posts  on  the  line  of  route  from  those 
States  to  Oregon  and  California.  Agreeably  to  this  recommenda- 
tion, bills  were  introduced  into  the  House  of  Representatives  for  es- 
tablishing such  a  government  over  the  country  above  described, 
which  was  to  be  called  the  Nebraska  Territory,  and  for  extending 
the  jurisdiction  of  ifs  courts  over  Oregon  ;  but  they  were  not  made 
the  subject  of  debate  during  the  session.  A  bill  fpr  the  immeiiate 
occupation  of  Oregon  under  a  territorial  government,  and  for  abro- 
gating the  Convention  of  1827,  in  the  manner  provided  by  that 
agreement,  was  however  passed  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  but 
it  was  not  discussed  in  the  Senate.  With  regard  to  the  measures  last 
mentioned  nothing  will  be  here  said,  in  addition  to  what  has  already 
been  observed,  except  that  the  propositions  for  establishing  a  terri- 
torial government  over  the  Nebraska  country,  and  for  extending  the 
benefit  of  its  laws  to  Oregon,  appear  to  have  combined  every  legis- 
lative provision  required  by  existing  circumstances,  to  maintain  the 
rights  o  the  United  States,  and  to  ensure  protection  to  their  citizens 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  On  the  19th  of  February,  1845,  the 
President  informed  Congress,  by  a  message,  that  considerable  pro- 
gress had  been  made  in  the  negotiation  with  Great  Britain,  which 
had  been  carried  on  in  a  very  amicable  spirit,  and  there  was  reason 
to  hope  that  it  might  be  speedily  terminated  ;  but  nothing  farther 
was  communicated  on  the  subject  during  that  session. 

On  the  night  of  the  3d  of  March,  1845,  during  the  last  hours  of 
the  Congress,  the  annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States  was  de- 
termined by  the  passage  of  a  joint  resolution  of  the  two  Houses,* 


•The  first  section  of  this  bill  declares  that  "the  territory  properly  included 
within  and  rightfully  belonging  to  the  Republic  of  Texas,  may  be  erected  into  a 
new  State,  to  be  called  the  State  of  Texas,  with  a  republican  form  of  government, 
to  be  adopted  by  the  people  of  said  republic  by  deputies  in  convention  assembled, 
with  the  consent  of  the  existing  government,  in  order  that  the  same  may  be  ad- 
mitted as  one  of  the  States  of  this  Union."  Another  section  provides,  that  "  new 
States,  of  convenient  size,  and  having  sufficient  population,  may  hereafter,  by  the 
consent  of  said  State,  be  formed  out  of  the  territory  thereof,  which  shall  be  entitled 
to  admission  under  the  provisions  of  the  Federal  Constitution.  And  such  States  as 
may  be  formed  out  of  that  portion  of  said  territory  lying  south  of  36  degrees  30 
minutes  north  latitude,  commonly  known  as  the  Missouri  compromise  line,  shall  be 
admitted  into  the  Union  with  or  without  slavery,  as  the  people  of  each  State  asking 
admission  may  desire." 


396 


ANNEXATION   Or   TEXAS   TO  THE   UNITED    STATES. 


[1845. 


which  the  President  immediately  approved  ;  and  the  legislature  and 
people  of  Texas,  having  accepted  the  terms  proffered,  that  country 
became,  in  the  course  of  the  year,  a  State  of  the  Federal  Republic. 
The  governments  of  Great  Britain  and  France  took  no  measures  to 
protest  against  the  act ;  though  their  organs  and  supporters  expressed 
great  dissatisfaction  with  it,  and  M.  Guizot,  the  French  Minister  of 
Foreign  Relations,  openly  spoke  of  the  necessity  of  eflecting  a 
"  balance  of  power  "  in  America,  similar  to  that  existing  in  Europe. 
The  negotiation  mentioned   by   President  Tyler  in   his    mes- 
sages, as  pending  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
for  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon  question,  was  opened,  at  Wash- 
ington, after  some  preliminary  correspondence,  in  February,  1844 ; 
but  it  was  immediately   interrupted  by  the   melancholy  death  of 
Mr.  A.  P.  Upshur,  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States, 
from  the  bursting  of  a  cannon  on  board  the  steam  frigate  Prince- 
ton, on  the  28th  of  that  month.    It  was  renewed  in  August  fol- 
lowing, between  Mr.  J.  C.  Calhoun,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Upshur, 
and  Mr.  Pakenham,  Minister    Plenipotentiary  of   Great  Britain 
at   Washington,   when   the   latter   again   presented   the    proposi- 
tion made  by  the  Commissioners  of  his  government  to  Mr.  Galla- 
tin in  December,*  1826  —  for  a  partition  of  the  territory,  by  a  line 
drav/n  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  along  the  forty-ninth  parallel  ol 
latitude  west,  to  McGillivray's  river,  and  thence  down  that  stream 
and  the  Columbia  to  the  ocean ;  all  south  and  east  of  which  line,  as 
well  as  a  detached  territory  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  Pacific  and 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,  between  Hood's  Canal  and  Gray's  (Bulfinch's) 
harbour,  were  to  belong  to  the  United  States,  and  the  remainder  to 
Great  Britain,  the  navigation  of  the  Columbia  being  free  to  both  par- 
ties.    This  proposition  was  rejected  by  the  American  government, 
and  again  rejected  when  it  had  been  amended  by  the  additional  offer 
to  render  free  to  the  United  States  any  ports  which  their  government 
might  desire,  either  on  the  mainland,  or  the  great  island  adjacent, 
south  of  the  forty-ninth  parallel ;  after  which,  on  the  2d  of  Septem- 
ber, Mr.  Calhoun  presented  another  statement  of  the  claims  of  his 
nation  to  the  whole  territory  drained  by  the  Columbia  river,  without, 
however,  making  any  distinct  proposition  for  a  boundary.     Farther 
correspondence  took  place  between  the  plenipotentiaries,  in  which 
each  endeavored  to  establish  the  correctness  of  his  views  by  refer- 
ence to  history,  to  treaties,  and  to  the  general  law  of  nations.     Mr. 


*  See  this  proposition  at  pages  346  and  347. 


1845.] 


NEGOTIATION  AT   WASHINGTON. 


397 


Pakenham  then  communicated  the  correspondence  to  his  govern- 
ment, by  whose  instructions  he,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1845,  propos- 
ed, as  the  most  fair  and  honorable  mode  of  settling  the  question,  that 
it  should  be  submitted  to  an  arbitrator :  but  this  was  declined  by 
the  President,  under  the  hope  that  a  more  speedy  and  satisfactory 
adjustment  might  be  attained  by  negotiation  ;  and  there  the  busi- 
ness terminated  for  the  time. 

The  particulars  of  this  negotiation  was  not  made  public  until  the 
end  of  the  year ;  but  the  Oregon  question  had,  in  the  mean  time, 
become  a  subject  of  great  interest,  not  only  in  America,  but  also  in 
Europe.  In  the  United  States,  the  advocates  of  the  occupation  of 
Oregon  were  disappointed  and  indignant  that  no  measure  had  been 
taken  for  that  object,  contemporary  with  the  passage  of  the  resolution 
for  the  annexation  of  Texas.  In  England,  soon  after  the  meeting 
of  Parliament,  in  February,  1845,  Sir  Robert  Peel  was  asked  for 
information  as  to  the  state  of  the  negotiation  with  the  United  States, 
which  was  decidedly  refused  by  that  minister ;  and  within  the  en- 
suing two  months,  circumstances  occurred  which  contributed  to  in- 
crease the  anxiety  of  the  friends  of  peace  in  both  countries. 

The  new  President,  Mr.  Polk,  in  his  inaugural  address  to  the 
people  on  the  4th  of  March,  1845,  declared  that  it  would  be  his 
duty  to  maintain  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the  territory 
beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  title  he  pronounced,  in  the 
words  of  the  resolution  of  the  Baltimore  Convention,  to  be  "  clear 
and  unqv£stionable,"  though  he  at  the  same  time  engaged  sa- 
credly to  respect  all  obligations  imposed  by  treaty  stipulations.'* 

*  "  Nor  will  it  become  in  a  less  degree  my  duty  to  assert  and  maintain,  by  all 
constitutional  means,  the  right  of  the  United  States  to  that  portion  of  our  territory 
which  lies  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Our  title  to  the  country  of  the  Oregon  is 
'  clear  and  unquestionable,'  and  already  are  our  people  preparing  to  perfect  that 
title  by  occupying  it  with  their  wives  and  chiU'.ien.  But  eighty  years  ago,  our  pop- 
ulation was  confined  on  the  west  by  the  Alleghaniea.  Within  that  period  —  within 
the  lifetime,  I  might  say,  ofsome  of  my  hearers  —  our  people,  increasing  to  many 
millions,  have  filled  the  eastern  valley  of  the  Mississippi  ;  adventurously  ascended 
the  Missouri  to  its  head  springs ;  and  are  already  engaged  in  establishing  the 
blessings  of  self-government  in  valleys,  of  which  the  rivers  flow  to  the  Pacific.  The 
world  beholds  the  peaceful  triumphs  of  the  industry  of  our  emigrants.  To  us  be- 
longs the  duty  of  protecting  them  adequately  wherever  they  may  be  upon  our  soil. 
The  jurisdiction  of  our  laws,  and  the  benefits  of  our  republican  institutions,  should 
be  extended  over  them  in  the  distant  regions  which  they  have  selected  for  their 
homes.  The  increasing  facilities  of  intercourse  will  easily  bring  the  States,  of 
which  the  formation  in  that  part  of  our  territory  cannot  bo  long  delayed,  within 
the  sphere  of  our  federative  Union.  In  the  mean  time,  every  obligation  imposed 
by  treaty  or  conventional  stipulations  should  be  sacredly  respected."  —  Message  of 
President  Polk,  of  March  4,  1845. 


398 


DEBiOrB  IN  PABLIAMCMT  ON  OBMON. 


[1846. 


In  this  d^Yelopment  of  the  President's  views  there  was  nothing 
to  attract  particular  attention  in  the  United  States,  as  the  language 
was  the  same  in  purport,  which  had  been  frequently  used  by  his 
predecessors,  and  no  one  doubted  his  disposition  to  pursue  the 
course  thus  indicated.  It  would  probably  also  have  passed  unno- 
ticed in  England,  had  not  the  opposition  in  Parliament  regarded  it 
as  a  good  basis  for  an  attack  on  the  ministry.  Lord  Clarendon  in- 
troduced the  subject  in  the  House  of  Peers,  on  the  4th  of  April, 
and  in  a  speech,  which  proved  conclusively  his  entire  ignorance  of 
the  facts  and  points  of  the  dispute,  he  pronounced  the  President's 
declaration  as  evincing  a  studied  neglect  of  that  courtesy  and  def- 
erential language,  usually  observed  by  governments  while  treating 
on  international  affairs,  and  hoped  that  the  ministers  would  not 
shrink  from  vindicating  the  honor  of  the  nation.  In  the  Commons, 
Lord  John  Russell,  who  had  prepared  himself  more  fully  for  the  oc- 
casion, entered  minutely  into  the  merits  of  the  case,  of  which  he 
presented  a  view  as  partial  as  such  views  may  be  expected  to  be ; 
adroitly  dwelling  on  the  weak  points  in  the  claims  advanced  at  any 
time  by  the  Americans,  and  avoiding  those  in  the  title  of  Great 
Britain,  with  all  the  dexterity  of  a  practised  advocate.  Lord  Pal- 
merston  seized  the  opportunity  to  arraign  the  ministry  for  their  set- 
tlement of  boundaries  with  the  Uni  ed  States,  by  the  treaty  of 
Washington ;  and  to  express  his  apprehensions,  that  another  Ash- 
burton  capitulation  was  about  to  be  concluded  with  regard  to  the 
Columbia  territories.  To  these  attacks.  Lord  Aberdeen,  the  Sec- 
retary for  Foreign  Affairs,  replied  with  indifference  ;  but  Mr.  Peel 
announced,  in  unequivocal  language,  the  determination  of  the  gov- 
ernment to  maintain  the  rights  of  Great  Britain  in  Oregon,  which 
he  also  considered  to  be  "  clear  and  unquestionable." 

This  debate  in  Parliament  served  as  a  tocsin  throughout  Great 
Britain  and  America ;  and  thousands  of  persons,  in  both  countries, 
who  had  never  before  thought  of  Oregon,  began  to  inquire  about  its 
position  and  advantages,  and  the  claims  of  the  two  nations  to  its  pos- 
session, or,  as  is  more  common  in  such  cases,  to  express  decided 
opinions  on  those  points,  without  examining  them.  In  America,  tlie 
"  clear  and  unquestionable  "  rights  of  the  Republic  were  declared  to 
cover  all  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  between  the 
parallels  of  42  degrees,  and  54  degrees  40  minutes ;  whilst  in 
England,  the  offer  of  the  portion  south  of  the  49th  degree,  and 
east  of  the  Columbia,  to  the  United  States,  was  regarded  as  a 
magnanimous  concession. 


1846.] 


tnaonAXuni  at  WASHmoTOif  coimmzD. 


809 


in 
and 
a 


•  In  the  midst  of  this  excitement,  on  both  sides,  the  negotiation 
respecting  Oregon  was  resumed  at  Washington,  in  July,  1845,  be- 
tween Mr.  Pakenham  and  Mr.  James  Buchanan,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Calhoun,  as  Secretary  of  State,  on  the  4th  of  March. 
The  American  Plenipotentiary  proposed  —  that  the  Oregon  ter- 
ritory shall  be  divided  between  the  two  nations,  by  a  line  passing 
along  the  49th  parallel  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean ;  leaving  free  to  Great  Britain  any  ports  which  her  govern- 
ment may  desire,  in  the  part  of  the  Island  of  Quadra  and  Van- 
couver, south  of  that  parallel:  nothing  being  said  respecting  the 
navigation  of  the  Columbia,  the  freedom  of  which  had  been  in- 
cluded in  the  offer  of  the  same  kind,  made  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  in 
1826.    This  proposition  was  immediately  rejected  by  Mr.  Paken- 
ham, without  submitting  it  to  his  government ;  and  the  offer  was 
then  withdrawn  by  Mr.  Buchanan,  who  declared,  in  his  letter  of 
August  30  —  that  the  President  had  been  actuated,  in  presenting  it, 
by  respect  for  the  conduct  of  his  predecessors,  and  by  a  sincere  and 
anxious  desire  to  promote  peace  and  harmony  between  tho  two 
nations ;  though  he  was  satisfied,  from  the  most  careful  and  ample 
examination  of  the  subject,  "  that  the  Spanish  American  title,  now 
held  by  the  United  States,  embracing  the  whole  territory  bf'tween 
the  parallels  of  42  degrees  and  54  degrees  40  minutes,  is  ihe  best 
title  in  existence  to  this  entire  region,  and  that  the  claim  of  Great 
Britain  to  any  portion  of  it  has  no  sufficient  foundation."    Upon 
this  the  negotiation  was  again  suspended. 

The  correspondence  and  protocols  of  conferences  in  the  negotia- 
tions, were  communicated  by  President  Polk  to  Congress,  with  his 
message  of  December  2,  1845,  wherein  he  presented  a  sketch  of 
what  had  been  done ;  and  he  recommended  that  notice  should  be  im- 
mediately given  to  Great  Britain,  of  the  intention  of  the  United 
States  to  abrogate  the  Convention  of  1S27,  at  the  expiration  of  a 
year,  as  also  that  other  measures  should  be  adopted  for  maintaining 
their  right  to  the  whole  of  Oregon,  which  was  shown  by  unequivocal 
reference  to  the  correspondence,  to  mean  the  whole  of  the  continent 
and  islands  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  between  the  parallels  of 
42  degrees,  and  54  degrees  40  minutes.  He  moreover,  in  answer 
.  to  M.  Guizot's  proposition  for  the  establishment  of  a  '^  balance  of 
power,"  in  America,  repeated  the  declaration,  made  by  President 
Monroe,  in  1823,  that  the  American  continents  were  no  longer  to 
be  subject  to  colonization  by  European  nations  ;*  qualifying  it,  how- 


See  page  336. 


400 


FABTRCm  NEGOTIATIOIfS   AT  WASBIlfOTON. 


[1845. 


ever,  by  a  limitation  to  the  northern  continent.  Upon  these 
recommondationi,  bills  were  introduced  in  each  House  of  Congress, 
authorizing  the  President  to  abrogate  the  Convention  of  1827,  in 
the  manner  provided  by  it,  and  for  the  extension  of  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  United  States  over  Oregon  ;  the  discussions  on  which 
continued  almost  exclusively  for  several  months. 

Whilst  these  bills  were  under  consideration,  another  correspond- 
ence on  the  subject  of  Oregon  was  in  progress  between  the  Secre- 
tary of  State  of  the  United  States  and  the  British  minister  at  Wash- 
ington. 

On  the  27th  of  December,  Mr.  Pakenham,  by  order  of  his 
government,  renewed'the  proposition  —  to  submit  the  whole  question 
of  an  equitable  division  of  the  Oregon  Territory,  to  the  arbitration 
of  some  friendly  sovereign  or  state,  as  being  the  most  prudent,  if 
not  the  only  feasible,  means,  of  restoring  a  good  understanding  be- 
tween the  two  nations.  Mr.  Buchanan,  in  his  answer,  remarked, 
—  that  the  proposition  for  an  equitable  division  of  the  territory  as- 
su^;<^d  the  title  of  Great  Britain  to  some  portion  of  that  territory  to 
be  ".alid  :  and  that  to  admit  the  proposition,  would  be  to  acknowl- 
edge this  validity,  and  to  preclude  the  United  States  from  claiming 
the  whole  before  the  arbitrator ;  which  being  entirely  inconsistent 
with  the  solemn  declaration  by  the  President,  of  the  title  of  the 
United  States  to  the  whole,  he  could  not  consent  to  this  mode  of 
adjustment  of  the  difference.  On  the  16th  of  January,  1846,  Mr. 
Pakenham,  after  declaring  that  his  nation  had  also  formally  an- 
nounced, and  still  maintained,  that  it  had  rights  in  Oregon,  incom- 
patible with  the  exclusive  claim  of  the  United  States,  desired  to 
know  —  whether  the  American  government  would  be  inclined  to  refer 
the  question  of  the  title  of  either  power  to  the  whole  territory 
to  arbitration,  by  a  sovereign  or  by  a  mixed  commission,  with  the 
condition,  that,  if  the  arbitrator  should  consider  neither  entitled  to 
the  whole,  he  might  assign  to  each,  such  portion  as  might  be  re- 
quired by  a  just  appreciation  of  the  respective  claims.  In  his  reply, 
Mr.  Buchanan  repeated  the  conviction  of  the  President,  with  regard 
to  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the  whole  of  Oregon ;  under 
which  conviction,  believing  also  as  he  did,  that  the  territorial  rights 
of  the  Republic  were  not  a  proper  subject  for  arbitration,  he  could 
not  consent  to  jeopard  their  interests,  by  referring  them  to  such  a 
tribunal,  howsoever  it  might  be  composed. 


1846.] 


DIMINUTION   or   THE    EXCITBMEMT. 


401 


Thii  correspondence  was  laid  before  CongreM  and  published  in 
February,  1846,  together  with  extracts  of  despatches  from  Mr. 
McLane,  the  American  Minister  at  London,  detailing  his  conveisa- 
tions  with  Lord  Aberdeen,  particularly  on  the  subject  of  the  large 
armaments  then  in  progress  in  Great  Britain  ;  in  which  his  Lordship 
had  declared,  that  those  preparations  were  made  without  reference 
to  the  existing  dispute  between  his  nation  and  the  United  States, 
though  in  the  event  of  hostilities,  they  might  prove  important  to 
Great  Britain.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  moreover,  expressed  his  regret,  on 
the  floor  of  Parliament,  at  the  rejection  by  Mr.  Pakenham  of  the 
proposition  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  for  the  adoption  of  the 
forty-ninth  parallel  as  the  lino  of  boimdary  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains :  and  measures  were,  about  the  same  time,  brought  forward  in 
Great  Britain,  for  the  removal  of  the  duties  on  the  importation  of 
corn  into  that  country  ;  while  the  American  administration  and  a 
large  portion  of  the  people,  were  equally  anxious  for  the  reduction 
of  the  taxes  on  the  entrance  of  foreign  manufactures  into  the  Union. 
All  these  circumstances,  especially  the  last  mentioned,  which 
seemed  to  promise  great  reciprocal  advanta.'"  s  to  both  nations,  con- 
tributed to  lessen  the  excitement  on  the  ubject  of  Oregon,  and  to 
render  them  equally  disposed  to  a  compromise  on  that  question ;  es- 
pecially as  it  happened  that  the  parties  in  each  country  most  ardent 
in  favor  of  the  proposed  changes  in  their  respective  commercial 
systems,  were  also  the  advocates  of  extreme  measures  with  regard  to 
the  territories  in  dispute. 

lo  the  nr.aan  time  the  debates  continued  in  Congress,  upon  the 
question  of  the  abrogation  of  the  Convention  of  1827 ;  and  hun- 
dreds of  speeches  were  made  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, and  hundreds  of  columns  of  newspapers  and  pages  of  pamph- 
lets were  printed  as  reports  of  speeches  thus  delivered,  or  which 
would  have  been  delivered,  had  an  opportunity  been  offered.  At 
length,  on  the  9th  of  February,  a  Resolution  was  passed  by  that 
House,  "  that  the  President  cause  notice  to  be  given  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain  that  the  Convention  "  of  1827  "  be  annulled 
and  abrogated  twelve  months  after  giving  said  notice,"  *  provided, 
that  this  should  not  « interfere  with  the  right  and  discretion  of  the 
proper  authorities,  to  renew  or  pursue  negotiations  for  an  amicable 
settlement  of  the  controversy  respecting  Oregon." 

The  debate  was  then  begun  in  the  Senate  on  this  and  other  forms 

*  The  vote  on  this  Resolution  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  —  ayes  163, 
nays  54.     The  whole  number  of  members  of  the  House  is  223. 
51 


40S  DEBATES  IN  CONGRESS  ON  ABROGATION  OF  THE  CONVENTION. 


of  ri;8olution  submitted  to  it,  and  was  there  conducted  for  some  time, 
in  general  with  great  ability,  knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  modera- 
tion of  views  and  expressions.  It  soon  became  evident,  that  nearly 
all  of  the  members  were  in  favor  of  giving  the  notice  required  for  the 
legal  abrogation  of  the  Convention  ;  but  considerable  difference  of 
opinion  prevailed  among  them  a^  to  the  terms  of  the  Resolution,  and 
the  measures  by  which  it  should  be  accompanied.  Those  who  con- 
sidered the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the  whole  territory  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  between  the  parallel  of  42  degrees  and  54  de- 
grees 40  minutes,  as  unquestionable,  were  anxious  that  the  abrogation 
should  be  the  act  of  'the  legislative  and  executive  branches  of  the 
government  combined,  which  the  President  should  be  required  to 
execute ;  and  that  preparations  should  be  at  the  same  time  made, 
for  enforcing  the  claim  of  the  United  States  to  this  whole  territory, 
at  the  end  of  the  period  designated  by  the  notice.  Those,  on  the 
other  hand,  who  conceived  the  rights  of  the  United  States  to  be  less 
clearly  established,  and  were  willing  to  assent  to  a  compromise  in  the 
partition  of  the  territory  in  question,  preferred  that  the  abrogation 
should  be  left  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the  President ;  and  that 
he  should  at  the  same  time  be  urged,  to  endeavor  by  all  peaceful 
means,  compatible  with  the  honor  of  the  nation,  to  effect  an  amicable 
settlement  of  the  controversy.  The  advocates  of  the  latter  course 
prevailed:  the  propositions  for  increasing  the  miUtary  and  naval 
forces  of  the  Union  were  rejected ;  and  finally,  on  the  16th  of  April, 
a  Resolution  was  passed,  "  that  the  President  be  authorized  at  his 
discretion "  to  give  the  notice  to  the  British  government  required 
for  the  abrogation  of  the  Convention :  the  preamble  declaring  the  ob- 
ject and  motive  of  this  measure  to  be  « that  the  respective  claims  of 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  should  be  definitively  settled, 
and  that  the  said  territory  may  no  longer  than  need  be,  remain  sub- 
ject to  the  evil  consequences  of  the  divided  allegiance  of  its  Ameri- 
can and  British  population,  and  of  the  confusion  and  conflict  of  na- 
tional jurisdictions,"  and  "  that  the  attention  of  the  governments  of 
both  countries  may  be  more  earnestly  and  immediately  directed  to 
renewed  efforts  for  the  amicable  settlement  of  all  their  differences 
and  disputes  in  respect  to  the  said  territory." 

To  the  change  thus  made  in  the  terms  of  the  resolution,  the  House 
of  Representatives  refused  at  first  to  assent ;  a  committee  of  confer- 
ence was  then  appointed  by  each  house,  and  a  form  was  agreed  upon, 
differing  only  in  a  few  points  of  little  importance,  from  that  proposed 
by  the  Senate,  which  was  adopted  by  both  bodies  on  the  23d  of  the 


1846.] 


TREATY   OF    LIMITS    CONCLUDED. 


403 


month.*  It  was  immediately  approved  by  the  President,  who,  i^ree- 
ably  to  the  authorization,  caused  Mr.  McLaue  to  be  instructed  to 
give  the  notice  as  provided  by  the  Convention  of  1827,  to  the  Bri- 
tish government ;  and  the  notice  was  accordingly  given  on  the  22d 
of  May. 

In  the  mean  time,  communications  had  been  frequent  between 
Mr.  McLane  and  Lord  Aberdeen  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  news  of  the 
passage  of  the  Joint  Resolution,  in  language  so  conciliating,  reached 
London,  instructions  were  sent  to  Mr.  Pakenham,  to  propose  to  the 
American  government,  a  form  of  a  Treaty  for  the  definitive  settle- 
ment of  the  whole  controversy.  Upon  this  proposition,  the  Presi- 
dent requested  the  advice  of  the  Senate,  which  was  given  on  the 
13th  of  June,  to  the  effect  that  the  terms  offered  should  be  accept- 
ed ;  and  accordingly,  on  the  15th,  the  Treaty  proposed  by  Great 
Britain  was  signed  by  Messrs.  Buchanan  and  Pakenham  ;  it  was  con- 

*  Joint  re8olution  concerning  the  Oregon  Territory,  approved  April  27  : 
Whereas  by  the  convention  concluded  the  20th  day  of  October,  1818,  between  the 
United  States  of  America  and  the  king  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland,  for  the  period  of  ten  years,  and  afterwards  indefinitely  extended  and  con- 
tinued in  force  by  another  Convention  of  the  same  parties,  concluded  the  6th  day 
of  August,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1S27,  it  was  agreed  that  any  country  that 
may  be  claimed  by  either  party  on  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America,  westward 
of  the  Stony  or  Rocky  Mountains,  now  commonly  called  the  Oregon  Territory, 
should,  together  with  its  harbors,  bays,  and  creeks,  and  the  navigation  of  all 
rivers  within  the  same,  be  free  and  open  to  the  vessels,  citizens,  and  subjects  of 
the  two  powers  ;  but  without  prejudice  to  any  claim  which  either  of  the  parties 
might  have  to  any  part  of  said  country  ;  and  with  this  further  provision  in  the 
second  article  of  the  said  Convention  of  the  6th  of  August,  1827,  that  either  party 
might  abrogate  and  annul  said  Convention  on  giving  the  notice  of  twelve  months 
to  the  other  contracting  party  : 
And  whereas  it  has  now  become  desirable  that  the  respective  claims  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain,  should  be  definitely  settled,  and  that  said  territory  may 
no  longer  than  need  be  remain  subject  to  the  evil  consequence  of  the  divided  alle- 
giance  of  its  American  and  British  population,  and  of  the  confusion  and  conflicf. 
of  national  jurisdictions,  dangerous  to  the  cherished  peace  and  good  understanding 
of  the  two  countries  : 
With  a  view,  therefore,  that  steps  be  taken  for  the  abrogation  of  the  said  Convention 
of  the  6th  of  August,  1827,  in  the  mode  prescribed  in  its  second  article,  and  that  the 
attention  of  the  governments  of  both  countries  may  be  the  more  earnestly  directed 
to  the  adoption  of  all  proper  measures  for  a  speedy  and  amicable  adjustment  of 
the  difierences  and  disputes  in  regard  to  the  said  territory  : 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  Route  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of  Amet' 
ica  in  Congress  assembled,  That  the  President  of  the  United  States  be,  and  he  is 
hereby  authorized,  at  his  discretion,  to  give  to  the  government  of  Great  Britain  the 
notice  required  by  the  second  article  of  the  said  Convention  of  the  sixth  of  August 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-seven,  for  the  abrogation  of  the  same. 


^-V.  ;■'>• 


404 


OBSERYATIONS    ON   THE   TREATY. 


[1846. 


firmed  b>  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on  the  18th,*  ratified  by 
the  President  immediately  afterwards,  and  by  the  Queen  of  Great 
Britain  on  the  17th  of  July. 

By  the  first  article  of  this  Treaty,!  the  boundary  between  the 
territories  of  the  two  nations  is  continued  from  the  point  where  it 
previously  terminated,  on  the  summit  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  the 
49th  degree  of  latitude,  due  west,  along  that  parallel,  to  the  middle 
of  the  channel,  between  Vancouver's  Island  and  the  continent,  and 
thence  southerly  through  the  middle  of  that  channel  and  of  Fuca's 
Strait,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  By  the  second  article,  the  navigation 
of  the  great  north  branch  of  the  Columbia,  and  of  its  main  trunk, 
below  the  junction  of  the  two  great  branches,  with  the  use  of  the  or- 
dinary portages  along  that  line,  is  to  be  free  and  open  to  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  and  to  all  British  subjects  trading  with  the 
same,  who  with  their  goods  and  produce,  shall  be  treated  on  the 
same  footing  with  citizens  of  the  United  States ;  provided,  however, 
that  the  government  of  the  latter  party  shall  not  be  prevented  from 
making  any  regulations  respecting  the  navigation  of  these  streams,  not 
inconsistent  with  this  Convention.  The  third  article  secures  respect 
for  the  possessory  rights  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  of  all 
British  subjects  who  may  already  occupy  land  or  property,  in  the 
future  appropriations  of  the  territory  south  of  the  boundary  thus  es- 
tablished :  the  fourth  article  providing  particularly  for  tiie  confirma- 
tion to  the  Puget's  Sound  Agricultural  Company,  of  all  farms,  lands 
and  other  property  whatever  on  the  north  side  of  the  Columbia ;  with 
the  stipulation,  that  in  case  the  situation  of  such  farms  and  lands 
should  be  considered  by  the  United  States  of  public  and  political  im- 
portance, and  their  government  should  desire  to  possess  them,  the 
property  should  be  transferred  to  it,  at  a  proper  valuation,  to  be 
agreed  on  between  the  parties.  The  fifth  article  is  for  the  imme- 
diate ratification  of  the  Treaty. 

With  regard  to  these  stipulations,  the  boundary  established  ap- 
pears to  be  on  the  whole,  a  fair  compromise  between  the  pretensions 
of  the  two  powers.  A  more  equitable  partition  would  perhaps  have 
been  made  by  a  line  drawn  from  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Strait 
of  Fuca,  northeastward,  along  the  ridge  separating  the  territories  of 
the  Columbia  from  those  of  Fraser's  River,  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, and  thence  southward,  along  that  chain,  to  the  extremity 

*  The  vote  in  the  Senate  was,  in  favor  of  the  Convention  41,  against  14  ;  absent 
one. 

t  The  Treaty  will  be  found  at  length  among  the  Proofs  and  Illustrations,  at  page 
482  of  this  volume. 


1846.] 


OBSERVATIONS   ON   THE    TREATY. 


405 


of  the  line  previously  determined  in  the  49th  degree  of  latitude ; 
and  the  Americans  may  be  dissatisfied  that  any  portion  of  the 
Columbia  regions,  and  the  right  to  navigate  any  of  the  waters  of 
that  river,  should  have  been  allowed  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  or  any  other  British  subjects.  There  is,  however, 
little  reason  to  apprehend  inconvenience  in  any  way  from  this 
part  of  the  arrangement :  for  the  territory  traversed  by  the  Colum- 
bia north  of  the  49th  parallel,  is  a  rugged  and  frozen  tract,  of  no 
value  except  for  the  few  furs  which  may  be  drawn  from  it ;  and 
the  British  can  never  have  interests  in  it  sufficient  to  induce  them 
often  to  undertake  the  tedious  and  laborious  navigation  of  the 
streams,  which  they  are  authorized  to  use  for  the  purpose.  The  re- 
servations with  regard  to  the  farms  and  lands  of  British  subjects,  in 
the  territory  assigned  to  the  United  States,  were  intended  of  course 
to  secure  indemnification  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  to  which, 
in  a  certain  degree,  it  may  be  entitled ;  though  objections  might  rea- 
sor-'bly  be  alleged  to  the  provision  in  favor  of  the  Puget's  Sound 
Coro  '  V;  which  was  merely  a  creation  of  the  Directors  of  the  other 
bod;  c.  a  )  expedient  to  meet  this  very  contingency  of  the  surrender 
of  the  territory  to  the  United  States,  by  a  nominal  occupation  of  all 
the  best  spots  north  of  the  Columbia.  These,  and  all  the  other  ob- 
jections to  the  arrangement,  however,  sink  into  insignificance  when 
compared  with  the  advantages  secured  by  it,  of  extinguishing  the 
only  serious  cause  of  dispute  between  the  two  most  important  na- 
tions of  the  civilized  world,  without  any  loss  of  honor  on  the  part  of 
either:  and  the  Treaty  of  June  15,  1846,  may,  in  this  respect,  be 
considered  as  one  of  the  most  memorable  acts  of  the  present  day. 

The  territory  thus  secured  to  the  United  States,  indeed  presents 
but  a  comparatively  small  surface,  adapted  for  cultivation  ;  but  on 
the  other  hand,  it  offers  great  facilities  for  fishing  and  grazing,  and 
a  ready  market  will  always  be  afforded,  for  its  fine  timber,  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  and  on  the  coasts  of  Mexico,  and  of  Central  and 
South  America,  which  are  nearly  all  destitute  of  that  indispensable 
article ;  while  its  harbors,  in  the  Strait  of  Fuca  and  Admiralty  Inlet, 
occupied  by  the  energetic  people  who  will  soon  surround  them, 
may  send  forth  shipping  sufficient  for  the  carrying  trade  of  the 
whole  Pacific.  The  idea  of  supplying  the  eastern  United  States 
with  Chinese  goods,  carried  over  land  from  the  ports  of  Oregon, 
however,  could  only  be  entertained  by  those  utterly  unacquainted 
with  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  The  voyage  between  these 
ports  and  Canton,  is  nearly  two  thirds  as  long  as  that  between  Can- 
ton and  New  York,  or  New  Orleans  —  and  much  more  perilous ; 


406 


CONCLUSION. 


[]846. 


and  the  cost  of  transporting  the  goods  over  a  few  hundred  miles  of 
land,  by  any  mode  of  conveyance,  would  certainly  exceed  the  whole 
freight  from  China  to  any  part  of  America.  v 

The  northern  boundary  of  the  United  States  has  thus  been  defini- 
tively determined,  in  its  whole  length,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific, through  fifty-eight  degrees  of  longitude,  equivalent  to  nearly 
three  thousand  miles  on  a  great  circle  of  the  earth,  and  to  much 
more,  following  the  sinuosities  of  the  line.  Their  southern  limits, 
on  the  other  hand,  have  been,  at  the  same  time,  unsettled,  by  the 
war  with  Mexico,  consequent  upon  the  annexation  of  Texas ;  but 
the  results  of  the  battles  of  the  8th  and  9th  of  May  on  the  Rio 
Bravo,  must  have  convinced  the  most  incredulous  that  the  determi- 
nation of  this  question  rests  entirely  at  the  discretion  of  the  United 
States,  notwithstanding  any  plans  of  the  French  or  any  other  Eu- 
ropean government,  for  the  establishment  of  a  balance  of  power  in 
the  New  World.  Every  thing  seems  at  present  to  indicate  that 
California  and  New  Mexico  will  soon  be  incorporated  in  the  Fede- 
ral Republic ;  and  that  the  line  of  separation  between  the  territories 
of  the  parties,  will  extend  northwestward  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Rio  Bravo  to  the  Californian  Gulf. 


The  first  part  of  the  august,  conception  of  Coleridge,  with  regard 
to  "  the  possible  destiny  of  the  United  States  of  America,"  has  now 
been  realized  ;  and  the  probability  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  remain- 
der has  been  greatly  increased.  The  territory  of  the  Republic  now 
unquestionably  ''  stretches  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,"  and 
ere  the  end  of  the  present  century,  it  will  be  inhabited  by  "  a  hun- 
dred millions  of  freemen,  living  under  the  laws  of  Alfred,  and  speak- 
ing the  language  of  Shakspeare  and  Milton,"  with  such  variations 
and  improvements,  as  the  difference  of  circumstances  may  render 
necessary.  Whether  these  and  the  other  adjoining  regions,  which 
may,  within  that  period,  be  in  like  manner  occupied  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, will  remain  under  one  general  government,  is  a  question  not 
to  be  discussed  at  present.  Their  inhabitants,  however,  will  be  of 
the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  which  has  so  triumphantly  established  its 
claim  of  preeminence  in  industry,  perseverance,  courage,  love  of 
order,  and  capacity  for  the  development  of  all  the  advantages  offered 
by  nature  to  man  ;  and  experience  fully  authorizes,  if  not  obliges  us 
to  expect,  that  any  changes  which  may  be  made  in  their  political 
system,  will  tend  to  the  promotion  of  their  general  prosperity  and 
happiness. 

END. 


M 


PROOFS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS 


A. 


Original  Account  of  the  Votage  of  the  Greek  Pilot  Juan 
DE  FucA  along  the  North-West  Coasts  of  America,  in 
1592. 

A  Note  made  by  me,  Michael  Lock  the  elder,  touching  the  Strait  of  Sea 
commonly  called  Fretum  Anian,  in  the  South  Sea,  through  the  North' 
West  Passage  of  Meta  Incognita.* 

When  I  was  at  Venice,  in  April,  1596,  haply  arrived  there  an 
old  man,  about  sixty  years  of  age,  called,  commonly,  Juan  de  Fuca,  but 
named  properly  Apostolos  Vederianus,  of  nation  a  Greek,  born  in  Cepha- 
Ionia,  of  profession  a  mariner,  and  an  ancient  pilot  of  ships.  This  man, 
being  come  lately  out  of  Spain,  arrived  first  at  Leghorn,  and  went  thence 
to  Florence,  where  he  found  one  John  Douglas,  an  Englishman,  a  famous 
mariner,  ready  coming  for  Venice,  to  be  pilot  of  a  Venetian  ship  for 
England,  in  whose  company  they  came  both  together  to  Venice.  And 
John  Douglas  being  acquainted  with  me  before,  he  gave  me  knowledge 
of  this  Greek  pilot,  and  brought  him  to  my  speech;  ard,  in  long  talks 
and  conference  between  us,  in  presence  of  John  Douglas,  this  Greek 
pilot  declared,  in  the  Italian  and  Spanish  languages,  thus  much  in  effect 
as  followeth :  — 

First,  he  said  that  he  had  been  in  the  West  Indies  of  Spain  forty 
years,  and  had  sailed  to  and  from  many  places  thereof,  in  the  service  of 
the  Spaniards. 

Also,  he  said  that  he  was  in  the  Spanish  ship  which,  in  returning 
from  the  Islands  Philippinas,  towards  Nova  Spania,  was  robbed  and 
taken  at  the  Cape  California  by  Captain  Candisk,  Englishman,  whereby 
he  lost  sixty  thousand  ducats  of  his  own  goods. 

Also,  he  said  that  he  was  pilot  of  three  small  ships  which  the  viceroy 
of  Mexico  sent  from  Mexico,  armed  with  one  hundred  men,  under  a  cap- 
tain, Spaniards,  to  discover  the  Straits  of  Anian,  along  the  coast  of  the 
South  Sea,  and  to  fortify  in  that  strait,  to  resist  the  passage  and  proceed- 
ings of  the  English  nation,  which  were  feared  to  pass  through  those 

*  Extracted  from  the  Pilgrims  of  Samuel  Purchas,  vol.  iii.  p.  849.  The  orthoffra- 
phy  of  tiie  English  is  modernized.  The  letters  inserted  are,  however,  given  in  their 
oripnal  lingua  fVanca.    See  p.  87  of  the  History. 


408 


PROOFB   AND   ILLlVSTRATlONS. 


[A. 


■traits  into  the  South  Sea ;  and  that,  by  reason  of  a  mutiny  which  hap- 
pened among  the  soldiers  for  the  misconduct  of  their  captain,  that  voyage 
was  overthrown,  and  the  ship  returned  from  California  to  Nova  Spania, 
without  any  thins  done  in  tliat  voyage ;  and  that,  after  their  return,  the 
captain  was  at  Mexico  punished  by  justice. 

Also,  he  said  that,  shortly  after  the  said  voyage  was  so  ill  ended,  the 
said  viceroy  of  Mexico  sent  him  out  again,  in  1502,  with  a  small  caravel 
and  a  pinnace,  armed  with  mariners  only,  to  follow  the  said  voyage  for 
the  discovery  of  the  Straits  of  Anion,  and  the  passage  thereof  into  the 
sea,  which  they  call  the  North  Sea,  which  is  our  north-west  sea ;  and  that 
he  followed  his  course,  in  that  voyage,  west  and  north-west  in  the  South 
Sea,  all  along  the  coast  of  Nova  Spania,  and  California,  and  the  Indies, 
now  called  North  America,  (all  which  voyage  he  signified  to  me  in  a  great 
map,  and  a  sea  card  of  faiine  own,  which  I  laid  before  him,^  until  he  came 
to  the  latitude  of  47  degrees ;  and  that,  there  finding  that  tne  land  trended 
north  and  north-east,  with  a  broad  inlet  of  sea,  between  47  and  48  degrees 
of  latitude,  he  entered  thereinto,  sailing  therein  more  than  twenty  days, 
and  found  that  land  trending  still  sometime  north-west,  and  north-east,  and 
north,  and  also  east  and  south-eastward,  and  very  much  broader  sea  than 
was  at  the  said  entrance,  and  that  he  passed  by  divers  islands  in  that  sail- 
ing ;  and  that,  at  the  entrance  of  this  said  strait,  there  is,  on  the  north- 
west coast  thereof,  a  great  headland  or  island,  with  an  exceeding  high 
pinnacle,  or  spired  rock,  like  a  pillar,  thereupon. 

Also,  he  said  that  he  went  on  land  in  divers  places,  and  that  he  saw 
some  people  on  land  clad  in  beasts'  skins ;  and  that  the  land  is  very  fruit- 
ful, and  rich  of  gold,  silver,  pearls,  and  other  things,  like  Nova  Spania. 

And  also,  he  said  that  he  being  entered  thus  far  into  the  said  strait, 
and  being  come  into  the  North  Sea  already,  and  finding  the  sea  wide 
enough  every  where,  and  to  be  about  thirty  or  forty  leagues  wide  in  the 
mouth  of  the  straits  where  he  entered,  he  thought  he  had  now  well  dis- 
charged his  office ;  and  that,  not  being  armed  to  resist  the  force  of  the 
savage  people  that  might  happen,  he  ther'^fore  set  sail,  and  returned  home- 
wards again  towards  IVooa  Spania,  where  he  arrived  at  Acapulco,  anno 
1593,  hoping  to  be  rewarded  by  the  viceroy  for  this  service  done  in  the 
said  voyage. 

Also,  he  said  that,  after  coming  to  Mexico,  he  was  greatly  welcomed 
by  the  viceroy,  and  had  promises  of  great  reward ;  but  that,  having  sued 
there  two  years,  and  obtained  nothing  to  his  content,  the  viceroy  told  hini 
that  he  should  be  rewarded  in  Spain,  of  the  king  himself,  very  greatly, 
and  willed  him,  therefore,  to  go  to  Spain,  which  voyage  he  did  perform. 

Also,  he  said  that,  when  he  was  come  into  Spain,  he  was  welcomed 
there  at  the  king's  court ;  but,  after  long  suit  there,  also,  he  could  not  get 
any  reward  there  to  his  content;  and  therefore,  at  length,  he  stole  ^way 
out  of  Spain,  and  came  into  Italy,  to  go  home  again  and  live  among  his 
own  kindred  and  countrymen,  he  being  very  old. 

Also,  he  said  that  he  thought  the  cause  of  his  ill  reward  had  of  the 
Spaniards,  to  be  for  that  they  did  understand  very  well  that  the  English 
nation  had  now  given  over  all  the  '^vages  for  discovery  of  the  north- 
west passage ;  wherefore  they  need  fear  them  any  more  to  come  that 
way  into  the  South  Sea,  and  there^  e  .'ey  needed  not  his  service  therein 
any  more. 

Also,  he  said  that,  understar  iing  the  noble  mind  of  the  queen  of 


«• 


PROOrs   AMD  IliLUiTRATIORt. 


40» 


Eagland,  and  of  her  wars  against  the  Spaniards,  and  hoping  that  her 
majesty  would  do  him  justice  for  his  goods  lost  1^  Captain  dandish,  he 
would  be  content  to  go  into  England,  and  serve  her  majesty  in  that  voyage 
for  the  discovery  perfectly  of  the  north-west  passage  into  the  South  Sea, 
if  she  would  furnish  him  with  only  one  ship  of  forty  tons'  burden,  and  • 
pinnace,  and  that  he  would  perform  it  in  thirty  days'  time,  from  one  end 
to  the  other  of  the  strait ;  and  he  willed  me  so  to  write  to  England. 

And,  upon  conference  had  twice  with  the  said  Greek  pilot,  I  did  write 
thereof,  accordingly,  to  England,  unto  the  right  honorable  the  old  Lord 
Treasurer  Cecil,  and  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  and  to  Master  Richard  Hak- 
luyt,  that  famous  cosmographer,  certifying  them  hereof.  And  I  prayed 
them  to  disburse  one  hundred  pounds,  to  bring  the  said  '^"-?k  pilot  into 
England  with  myself,  for  that  my  own  purse  would  not  •.  .^.i  so  wide  at 
that  time.  And  I  had  answer  that  this  action  was  well  liked  and  greatly 
desired  in  England;  but  the  money  was  not  ready,  and  therefore  this 
action  died  at  that  time,  though  the  said  Greek  pilot,  perchance,  livettj 
Btill  in  his  own  country,  in  Cephalonia,  towards  which  place  he  weni 
within  a  fortnight  after  this  conference  had  at  Venice. 

And,  in  the  mean  time,  while  I  followed  my  own  business  in  Fentce, 
being  in  a  lawsuit  against  the  Company  of  Merchants  of  Turkey,  to  re- 
cover my  pension  due  for  being  their  consul  at  Aleppo,  which  they  held 
from  me  wrongfully,  and  when  I  was  in  readiness  to  return  to  England, 
I  thought  I  should  be  able  of  my  own  purse  to  take  with  me  the  said 
Greek  pilot ;  and  therefore  I  wrote  unto  him  from  Venice  a  letter,  dated 
July,  1598,  which  is  copied  here  under :  — 


*  "  Al  Mag*°-  Sig°'*  Capitan  Juan  de  Fuca,  Piloto  de  India,  amigo  mio 

char""'  en  Zefalonia. 

"  MuY  HoNRADO  SeNNOR, 

"  Siendo  yo  para  buelverme  en  Inglatierra  dentre  de  pocas 

mezes,  y  accuerdandome  de  lo  trattado  entre  my  y  V.  M.  en  Venesia 

sobre  el  viagio  de  las  Indias,  me  ha  parescido  bien  de  scrivir  esta  carta 

a  V.  M.  para  que  se  tengais  aninio  de  andar  con  migo,  puedais  escribirme 

presto  en  que  maniera  quereis  consertaros.     Y  puedais  embiarmi  vuestrS 

carta  con  esta  nao  Ingirs,  que  sta  al  Zante  (sino  hallais  otra  coiuntura 

meior)  con  el  sobrescritto  que  diga  en  casa  del   Sennor  Eleazar  Hyc- 

man,  meroader  Ingles,  al  tragetto  de  San  Tomas  en  Venisia.     Y  Dios 

guarde  la  persona  de  V.  M.    Fecha  en  Venesia  al  primer  dia  de  Julio, 

1596  annos.  ,,  »„•  „  j„  v  iw 

"  Amigo  de  V.  M.,  ..  ^^^^^^^  l^ck,  Ingks." 


^'iK- 


*  To  the  Magnificent  Captain  Juan  de  Fuca,  Pilot  of  the  Indiei,  my  moit  dear  friend 

in  Cephalonia. 
Most  Honored  Sir, 

Being  about  to  return  to  England  in  a  few  months,  and  recollecting  what 
passed  between  you  and  myself,  at  Venice,  respecting  the  voyage  to  the  Indies,  I 
have  thought  proper  to  write  you  this  letter,  so  that,  if  you  have  a  mind  to  go  with 
me,  you  can  write  me  word  directljr  how  you  wish  to  arrange.  You  may  send  me  your 
letter  by  this  English  vessel,  which  is  at  Zante,  (if  you  should  find  no  better  op- 
portunity,)  directed  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Eleazer  Hyckman,  an  English  merchant,  St 
Thomas  Street,  Venice.    God  preserve  you,  sir. 

Your  friend, 

MicHAXL  LocT,  <(f  England. 
ViNicK,  July  1st,  1596.       52 


410 


VROOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


lA. 


;' And  I  sent  the  said  letter  from  Venice  to  Zante  in  the  ship  Cherubin; 
and,  shortly  after,  I  sent  a  copy  thereof  ir  'he  ship  Minion,  and  also  a 
third  copy  thereof  by  Manea  Orlando,  patron  ue  nave  Venetian.  And  unto 
my  said  letters  he  wrote  me  answer  to  Venice  by  one  letter,  which  came 
not  to  my  hands,  and  also  by  another  letter,  which  came  to  my  hands, 
which  is  copied  here  under :  — 

*  "  AI 111"^  Sig"'  Michael  Lock,  Ingles,  in  casa  del  Sig°'-  Lasaro,  merca- 
der  Ingles,  al  tragetto  de  San  Tol...^  en  Venesia. 

"Muv  Illustre  Sig"'", 

"  La  carta  de  V.  M.  recevi  a  20  dias  del  mese  di  Settembre, 
por  loqual  veo  loche  V.  M.  me  manda.  lo  tengho  animo  de  complir  loche 
tengo  promettido  a  V.  M.  y  no  solo  yo,  mas  tengo  vinte  hombres  pi.ra 
lievar  con  migo,  porche*  son  hombres  vaglientea;  y  assi  estoi  esperando 
por  otra  carta  che  aviso  a  V.  M.  parache  me  embiais  los  dinieros  ';he  tengo 
escritto  a  V.  M.  Porche  bien  save  V.  M.  como  io  vine  pover,  porque  me 
glievo  Captain  Candis  mas  de  sessenta  mille  ducados,  como  V.  M.  bien 
save;  embiandome  lo  dicho,  ire  a  servir  a  V.  M.  con  todos  mis  com- 
pagneros.  I  no  spero  otra  cosa  mas  de  la  voluntad  e  carta  de  V.  M.  con 
tanto  nostro  Sig"-  Dios  guarda  la  illustre  persona  de  V.  M.  muchos  annos. 
De  Ceffalonia  a  24  de  Settembre  del  1596. 

"  Amigo  y  servitor  de  V.  M., 

"Juan  Fdca." 

And  the  said  letter  came  into  my  hands  in  Venice,  the  16th  day  of 
November,  1596 ;  but  my  lawsuit  with  the  Company  of  Turkey  was  not 
ended,  by  reason  of  Sir  John  Spenser's  suit,  made  in  England,  at  the 
queen's  court,  to  the  contrary,  seeking  only  to  have  his  money  discharged 
which  I  had  attached  in  Venice  for  my  said  pension,  and  thereby  my  own 
purse  was  not  yet  ready  for  the  Greek  pilot. 

And,  nevertheless,  hoping  that  my  said  suit  would  have  shortly  a  good 
end,  I  wrote  another  letter  to  this  Greek  pilot  from  Venice,  dated  the  20th 
of  November,  1596,  which  came  not  to  his  hands,  and  also  another  letter, 
dated  the  24th  of  January,  1596,  which  came  to  his  hands.  And  thereof 
he  wrote  me  answer,  dated  the  28th  of  May,  1597,  which  I  received  the 
1st  of  August,  1597,  by  Thomas  Norden,  an  English  merchant,  yet  living 
in  London,  wherein  he  promised  still  to  go  with  me  unto  England,  to 
perform  the  said  voyage  for  discovery  of  the  north-west  passage  into  the 
South  Sea,  if  I  would  send  him  money  for  his  charges,  according  to  his 


"  To  the  Illustrious  Michael  Lock,  Englishman,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Lazaro,  English 
merchant,  in  St.  Thomas  Street,  Venice. 

Most  Illustrious  Sir, 

Your  letter  was  received  by  me  on  the  20th  of  September,  by  which  I 
am  informed  of  what  you  communicate.  I  have  a  mind  to  comply  with  my  promise 
to  you,  and  have  not  only  myself,  but  twenty  men,  brave  men,  too,  whom  I  can 
carry  with  me ;  so  I  am  waiting  for  an  answer  to  another  letter  which  I  wrote  you, 
about  the  money  which  I  askca  you  to  send  me.  For  you  know  well,  sir,  how  1  be- 
came poor  in  consequence  of  Captain  Candish's  having  taken  from  me  more  than 
sixty  tliousand  ducats,  as  you  well  know.    If  you  will  send  me  what  1  asked,  I. will 

So  with  you,  as  well  as  all  my  companions.     I  ask  no  more  from  your  kindness,  aa 
liown  by  your  letter.     God  preserve  you,  most  illustrious  sir,  for  many  years. 

Your  friend  and  servant, 

Juan  Foca. 
Cephalonia,  September  24th,  1596. 


a] 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


411 


former  writing,  without  which  mdney  he  said  he  could  not  go,  for  that  as 
he  was  undone  utterly  when  he  was  in  the  ship  Santa  Anna,  which  came 
from  China,  and  was  robbed  at  California.  And  yet  again,  afterward,  I 
wrote  him  another  letter  from  Venice,  whereunto  he  wrote  me  answer  by 
a  letter  written  in  his  Greek  language,  dated  the  20th  of  October,  1508, 
the  which  I  have  still  by  me,  wherein  he  promiseth  still  to  go  with  me 
into  England,  and  perform  the  said  voyage  of  discovery  of  the  north-west 
passage  into  the  South  Sea  by  the  said  straits,  which  he  calleth  the  Strait 
of  Nova  Spaniu,  which  he  saith  is  but  thirty  days'  voyage  in  the  straits,  if 
I  will  send  him  the  money  formerly  written  for  his  charges ;  the  which 
money  I  could  not  yet  send  him,  for  that  I  had  not  yet  recovered  my  pen- 
sion owing  me  by  the  Company  of  Turkey  aforesaid;  and  so,  of  long  time, 
I  stayed  any  further  proceeding  with  him  in  this  matter. 

And  yet,  lastly,  when  I  myself  vas  at  Zante,  in  the  month  of  June, 
1602,  minding  to  pass  from  thence  tvT  England  by  sea,  for  that  I  had  then 
recovered  a  little  money  from  the  Coi.\pany  of  Turkey,  by  an  order  of  the 
lords  of  the  Privy  Council  of  England,  I  wrote  another  letter  to  this  Greek 
pilot,  to  Cephalonia,  and  required  him  to  come  to  me  to  Zante,  and  go 
with  me  into  England,  but  I  had  no  answer  thereof  from  him ;  for  that, 
as  I  heard  afterward  at  Zante,  he  was  then  dead,  or  very  likely  to  die  of 
great  sickness.  Whereupon,  I  returned  myself,  by  sea,  from  Zante  to 
Venice,  and  from  thence  I  went,  by  land,  through  France,  into  England, 
where  I  arrived  at  Christmas,  anno  1602,  safely,  I  thank  God,  after  my 
absence  from  thence  ten  years'  time,  with  great  troubles  had  for  the  Com- 
pany of  Turkey's  business,  which  hath  cost  me  a  great  sum  of  money, 
for  the  which  I  am  not  yet  satisfied  of  them. 


B. 


■  ;  ><"      . 


Furs  and  the  Fur  Trade. 


Fur,  strictly  speaking,  is  the  soft,  fine  hair  which  forms  the  natural 
clothing  of  certain  animals,  particularly  of  those  inhabiting  cold  countries. 
In  commerce,  however,  the  word  is  understood  to  mean  the  skin  of  the 
animal,  with  the  hair  attached,  either  before  or  after,  but  generally  after, 
it  has  been  rendered  soft  and  pliable,  by  a  peculiar  process,  called  dress- 
ing. The  undressed  skins  are  commonly  called  peltry :  but  fur  and 
peltry  are  employed  as  synonymous  terms ;  and  the  word  fur,  in  com- 
merce, is  generally  to  be  understood  as  peltry.  The  skins  of  seals,  bears, 
wolves,  lions,  leopards,  buffaloes,  &c.,  are  also  placed  under  the  denomi- 
nation oi  furs,  in  commerce. 

Skins  must  have  formed  the  first  clothing  of  man  in  cold  countries ; 
and,  at  the  present  day,  they  constitute  the  whole  or  the  greater  pan  of 
the  dress  of  many  millions  of  individuals.  For  this  purpose,  the  skin, 
with  or  without  the  fur,  is  employed  as  cloth  would  be ;  or  the  fur  alone 
is  converted  by  art  into  the  peculiar  substance  called  /eft,  of  which  hats 
are  made. 


418 


PBOOri    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


!■. 


Furs  diflTer  in  valae,  according  to  the  fineness,  the  len^h,  the  thick- 
ness, and  the  color,  of  their  haii.  The  most  precious  is  that  of  the 
ermine,  a  species  of  weasel;  it  is  thick,  soil,  fine,  and  oi  dazzling  white- 
ness, except  the  tip  of  the  tail,  which  is  of  a  glossy  black  color,  and  is 
used  to  form  spots  on  the  skin.  Of  great  vnlue,  also,  are  the  skins  of  the 
marten,  the  sable,  the  fiery  fox,  the  silver  fox,  and  tho  black  fux ;  after 
which  come  those  of  the  sea  otter,  the  beaver,  the  seal,  and  —  though  far 
inferior  to  the  others  —  of  the  muskrat,  the  raccoon,  the  fox,  the  weasel, 
&c.  Of  these,  the  ermine  is,  as  before  said,  the  most  precious;  the 
muskrat  is  that  of  which  the  greatest  quantity  ia  collected;  while  the 
iglH'egate  value  of  the  beaver  skins  annually  consumed  among  civilized 
nations  is  greater  than  that  of  all  the  other  furs  together. 

The  finer  furs  are  principally  used  in  Russia,  Turkey,  and  China,  — 
in  the  latter  country  especially,  where  they  form  important  portions  of  the 
dress  of  every  rich,  noble,  or  ostentatious  person.  In  Europe,  and  in  the 
United  States,  furs  are  also  much  worn  in  the  shape  of  caps,  muffs,  and 
trimmings.  The  greatest  consumption  of  the  inferior  furs  is  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  hats,  which  is  of  comparatively  modern  date,  and,  as  well  as 
the  use  of  those  articles,  is  confined  almost  entirely  to  Europe  and 
America.  The  furs  mostly  used  for  this  purpose  are  those  of  the  beaver, 
the  otter,  the  nutria,  (an  animal  resembling  the  beaver,  found  in  Patago- 
nia,) and  the  muskrat;  but  the  greater  number  of  hats  are  composed 
chiefly  of  wool,  with  or  without  a  slight  covering  of  fur. 

Nearly  all  the  furs  now  brought  into  commerce  are  procured  from  the 
countries  north  of  the  40th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  through  the  agency 
of  the  British  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  or  of  the  Russian  American 
Company,  or  by  various  private  associations  and  individuals  in  the  United 
States.  Of  those  obtained  in  the  Russian  dominions,  some  are  carried 
over  land  to  China,  others  also  over  land  to  Europe,  and  the  remainder  by 
sea  to  Europe.  Those  found  in  the  territories  of  the  United  States  are 
nearly  all  carried  to  New  York,  from  which  portions  are  sent  to  London 
or  to  Canton.  The  furs  collected  in  the  parts  of  America  possessed  or 
claimed  by  Great  Britain,  are  mostly  shipped  for  London,  either  at  Mont- 
real, or  at  York  Factory  on  Hudson's  Bay,  or  at  Fort  Vancouver,  at  the 
head  of  navigation  of  the  Columbia  River.  The  southern  hemisphere 
Kupplies  scarcely  any  furs,  except  those  of  the  nutria,  of  which  consid- 
erable quantities  are  brought  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  New  York  or  to 
London.  London  is  undoubtedly  the  most  extensive  mart  for  furs  in  the 
world,  and  New  York  is  probably  the  second ;  of  the  others,  the  princi- 
pal are  Leipsic,  Nijney-Novogorod  on  the  Wolga,  Kiakta  on  the  boun- 
dary line  between  Russia  and  China,  and  Canton.  Of  the  value  of  the 
furs  thus  annually  brought  into  trade,  it  is  impossible  to  form  an  exact 
estimate.  According  to  a  rough  calculation,  the  amount  received  by  the 
first  collectors,  for  the  skins  in  their  undressed  state,  is  about  three  mil- 
lions of  dollars;  but  they  afterwards  pass  through  many  hands,  so  that  the 
price  is  much  enhanced  before  they  reach  the  actual  consumer. 

The  fur  trade  has  been,  hitherto,  very  profitable  to  those  engaged  in  it; 
but  it  is  now,  from  a  variety  of  causes,  declining  every  where.  The  in- 
crease in  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  pursuit,  and  the  spread 
of  civilized  population  over  the  countries  from  which  the  furs  are  chiefly 
procured,  are  rapidly  diminishing  the  number  of  the  animals;  so  that,  in 
many  countries  in  which  they  formerly  abounded,  not  one  can  be  obtained 


on 


m 


PBOOrS    AMD   ILLUSTRATtOm. 


418 


at  the  present  day.  This  diminution  in  the  amount  of  the  article  offered 
has  nut,  however,  increased  the  price ;  as  other  articles,  composed  of  silk, 
wool,  or  cotton,  are  substituted  for  furs,  with  advantage,  both  as  to  com- 
fort and  cheapness. 

For  particulars  with  regard  to  the  manner  in  which  the  fur  trade  of  the 
northern  parts  of  America  is  conducted,  see  the  accounts  of  the  Russian 
American  Company's  establishments  and  system,  in  the  Geographical 
Sketch,  and  in  chap.  xii.  of  the  History,  and  the  view  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company's  proceedings,  in  chap,  xviii.  Respecting  the  furs  them- 
selves,  minute  information  may  be  derived  from  an  article  on  the  subject 
by  Mr.  Aiken,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement 
of  Arts,  Manufactures,  and  Commerce,  published  at  London  in  J.830,  as 
also  from  a  similar  article,  by  Professor  Silliman,  in  the  American  Jour- 
nal of  Science  and  Art  for  April,  1834,  and  from  the  article  on  furs  ia 
McCulloch's  Dictionary  of  Commerce. 


Correspondence  between  the  Spanish  Commandant  and  Com- 
missioner AT  NooTKA  Sound  and  the  Masters  of  the 
American  trading  Vessels  Columbia  and  Hope,  respecting 
THE  Occurrences  at  that  Place  in  the  Summer  of  1789.'"' 

Translation  of  the  Letter  from  the  Spanish  Commandant  to  Captains 
Robert  Gray  and  Joseph  Ingraham. 

NooTKA,  August  2d,  1793. 

In  order  to  satisfy  the  court  of  England,  as  is  just,  for  the  injury,  dam- 
ages, and  usurpation,  which  it  conceives  itself  to  have  sustained  at  this 
port,  in  the  year  1789, 1  have  to  request  of  you,  gentlemen,  the  favor  to 
inform  me,  with  that  sincerity  which  distinguishes  you,  and  which  is 
conformable  with  truth  and  honor,  for  what  reason  Don  Esteban  Jose 
Martinez  seized  the  vessels  of  Colnett,  [called]  the  Iphigenia  and  the 
North-We!<t  America?  What  establishment  or  building  had  Mr.  Meares 
on  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards?  What  territories  are  those  which  he 
says  that  he  purchased  from  Maquinna,  Yuquiniarri,  or  other  chief  of 
these  tribes?  With  what  objects  were  the  crew  of  the  North-West 
America  transferred  to  the  Columbia,  and  ninety-six  skins  placed  on 
board  that  ship  ?  Finally,  what  was  the  whole  amount  of  skins  carried 
by  you  to  China,  and  to  whom  did  they  belong? 

Your  most  obedient  and  assured  servant, 

Juan  Francisco  de  la  Bodega  y  Quadra. 

*  The  letter  of  Gray  and  Ingraham  is  copied  from  Ingraham's  Journal  of  his  voyage 
in  the  Hope,  preserved,  in  manuscript,  in  the  library  of  the  Department  of  State  at 
Wnshington.  The  translation  of  Quadra's  letter  is  made  from  the  original  in 
Spanish,  which  is  attached  by  a  wafer  to  the  journal.  A  synopsis  of  the  Tetter  of 
Gray  and  Ingraham,  which  is,  in  every  respect,  incorrect,  may  be  found  in  Vancou- 
ver't  Journal,  vol.  i.  p.  389.    See  p.  242  of  this  History. 


414 


PmOOri    AND    ILLUITBATIONI. 


[C 


itfuwer  of  CapttAni  Oray  and  Ingraham  to  Don  Juan  Franeiteo  dt  la 

Bodega  y  Quadra.* 


Sm, 


NoOTKA  SOOND,  Auguit  3J,  1799. 


Your  esteemed  favor  was  handed  to  us  yesterday,  requesting  fVom 
UB  information  relative  to  the  transactions  between  the  English  and  Span- 
iards in  this  sound,  in  the  year  1789,  which  we  will  do  with  great  pleasure, 
and  impartially,  as  you  request. 

On  the  5th  of  May,  1789,  when  Don  Estevan  Jose  Martinez  orrived  in 
Friendly  Cove,  he  found  riding  at  anchor  there  the  Iphigenia  only ;  the 
ship  Columbia  being  at  Mahwhinna,  Ave  miles  up  the  sound.  The  sloop 
Wnshington  and  North-West  America  (schooner)  were  on  a  cruise.  This 
information  is  necesHiiry  in  order  to  regulate  the  sequel  of  the  present. 
Atter  the  usual  ceremonies  of  meeting  were  over,  Don  Martinez  requested 
the  papers  of  each  vessel,  and  demanded  why  they  were  at  anchor  in 
Nootka  Sound,  alleging  it  belonged  to  his  Cntholic  majesty.  Captain 
Viana,  who  passed  as  commander  of  the  Iphigenia,  answered,  they  had 
put  in,  being  in  distress,  having  but  little  provisions,  and  in  great  want  of 
every  necessary,  such  as  cables,  anchors,  rigging,  sails,  &c. ;  that  they 
were  in  daily  expectation  of  the  arrival  of  Captain  Meares  from  Macao, 
to  supply  them,  when  they  should  depart.  Captain  Meares  was  expected 
to  return  in  the  same  vessel  he  sailed  in  from  hence  in  the  year  1788, 
which  was  under  the  Portuguese  colors,  and  had  z  Portuguese  captain  on 
board :  this  vessel,  with  the  Iphigenia,  were  said  to  belong  to  one  Cravalia, 
or  Cavallo,  a  merchant  of  Macao,  in  whose  name  the  fphigenia's  papers 
were  made  out.  Seeing  the  Iphigenia  was  in  such  want,  Don  Martinez 
gave  them  a  temporary  assistance,  by  supplying  them  with  such  articles 
as  they  were  most  in  want,  till  the  vessel  before  mentioned  should  arrive. 
At  this  time  there  was  not  the  least  suspicion  of  any  misunderstanding  or 
disturbance  among  us,  as  Don  Martinez  was  apparently  satisfied  with  the 
answers  each  vessel  had  given  to  his  request. 

However,  on  the   10th  of  May,   the   San   Carlos,   Captain   Arrow, 

tHaro,]  arrived.  The  same  day  the  American  officers  came  to  Uquot,  or 
Viendly  Cove,  to  welcome  them  in;  and  the  next  morning,  the  11th  of 
May,  Don  Martinez  captured  the  Iphigenia,  and  his  reason,  as  we  under- 
stand, was,  that,  in  their  Portuguese  instructions,  they  had  orders  to  cap- 
ture any  English,  Spanish,  or  Russian,  subjects  they  met  'on  the  north- 
west coast  of  America.  This,  at  the  time,  seemed  improbable,  ns  she 
was  a  vessel  of  small  force ;  and  it  was  afterwards  found  to  have  been  a 
mistake,  owing  to  their  want  of  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Portuguese 
language.  However,  after  the  vessel  was  taken,  the  officers  and  senmen 
were  divided,  some  on  board  the  Princesa,  and  some  on  board  the  San 
Carlos,  where  they  were  treated  with  all  imaginable  kindness,  and  every 
attention  paid  them. 

*  Reference  is  frequently  made  to  this  letter  in  the  8th  and  11th  chapters  of  tho 
preceding  History.  A  synopsis  of  its  contents  may  be  found  in  the  lOlh  chapter  of 
Vancouver's  account  of  his  expedition,  on  comparing  which  with  the  letter,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  evidence  of  the  American  captains  is  garbled  and  distorted  in  the 
most  unworthy  manner  in  the  synopsis,  not  only  by  suppressions,  but  even  by  direct 
falsifications.  To  show  this  fully,  it  would  be  necessary  to  insert  the  whole  of  Van- 
eouver's  synopsis;  the  assertion,  however,  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  few  notes 
which  follow. 


a] 


PROOra    AND    ILLUtTRATlONI. 


416 


*  On  the  24th  of  May,  the  above-mentioned  mistake  being  diacovered, 
the  Iphigcnia  was  returned  again,  and  tho  Portuguese  flag  hoisted  on 
board  her :  the  same  day,  Captain  Douglas,  with  the  Portuguese  captain 
and  seamen,  repaired  on  board.  The  Iphigenia,  while  in  possession  of 
the  Spaniards,  from  being  a  wreck  was  put  in  complete  order  for  sea, 
being  calked,  rigging  and  sails  repaired,  anchors  and  cables  sent  from  the 
Princesa,  6oc,  On  the  2(3th,  Don  Martinez  supplied  them  with  every  kind 
of  provisions  they  were  in  need  of,  for  which  Captain  Douglas  gave  him 
bills  oil  Cravalia,  the  before-mentioned  merchant  of  Mucao.  On  the  31st, 
the  Iphigcnia  sailed,  and  wuh  siduted  by  the  Spanish  fort ;  and  the  com- 
modore accompanied  them  out  of  the  harbor,  giving  every  assistance  with 
bouts,  &,c.  When  Captain  Douglas  took  his  leave  of  the  commodore,  he 
declared  he  should  ever  entertain  a  sense  of  Don  Martinez's  kindness, 
deeming  his  conduct  relative  to  the  vessel  no  more  than  his  duty  as  a 
king's  officer.  Upon  the  whole,  we  both  believe  tho  Iphigenia's  being 
detained  was  of  infinite  service  to  those  who  were  con  3rned  in  her. 
This  must  be  plain  to  every  one  who  will  con»ider  the  situation  of  thi 
vessel  when  the  Princesu  arrived,  and  the  advantages  reaped  from  the 
supplies  and  assistance  of  the  Spaniards.  The  detention,  if  it  iriay  hti 
called  so,  could  be  no  detriment;  for,  had  nothing  taken  plai  e,  she  i'>  ,9t 
have  remained  two  months  longer  at  least,  having,  as  has  already  been 
mentioned,  put  into  port,  being  in  distress.  Of  course  they  could  not 
have  sailed  till  supplies  arrived,  which  was  not  till  July,  as  will  appear  in 
the  sequel :  whereas,  being  early  fitted,  as  above  mentioned,  she  saili  .1  n-* 
the  coast  northward  of  Nootka  Sound,  and,  there  being  no  other  vessel  here 
they  collected  upwards  of  seven  hundred  sea  otter  skins ;  which  hai>  been 
often  represented  to  us  by  Captain  Douglas  and  his  officers,  ailer  our 
arrival  in  China.  This  may  suffice  for  the  transactions  relative  to  the 
Iphigenia.  Before  Captain  Douglas  sailed,  he  gave  Don  Estevan  Marti- 
nez a  letter  to  Mr.  Funter,  master  of  the  schooner  North- West  America, 
telling  him,  from  Captain  Meares's  not  arriving  at  the  appointed  time,  there 
was  great  reason  to  fear  the  vessel  he  sailed  from  Nootka  in  had  never 
reached  China,  (she  being  in  bad  condition  when  she  sailed  from  this 
place;)  therefore,  as  he,  Mr.  Funter,  must,  on  his  arrival,  be  destitute  of 
every  necessary,  he  was  at  liberty  to  conduct  as  he  thought  most  condu- 
cive to  the  interests  of  his  employers.  We  shall  make  mention  of  this 
vessel  again  hereafter. 

Interim,  we  observe  your  wish  to  be  acquainted  what  house  or  estab- 
lishment Mr.  Meares  had  at  the  time  the  Spaniards  i.-ri'od  here.  We 
answer  in  a  word.  None.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Coluiiuiia,  in  the  year 
178S,  there  was  a  house,  or  rather  a  hut,  consisting  of  rough  posts,  cov- 
ered with  boards,  made  by  the  Indians;  but  this  Captain  Douglas  pulled 
to  pieces,  prior  to  his  sailing  for  the  Sandwich  hlands,  the  same  year. 
The  boards  he  took  on  board  the  Iphigenin,  ;.nd  the  roof  he  gave  to 
Captain  Kendrick,  which  was  cut  up  and  used  ns  firewood  on  board  the 
Columbia;  so  that,  on  the  arrival  of  Don  Estevan  J.  Martinez,  there  was 

•  Of  the  whole  of  this  paragraph,  all  that  is  said  by  Vancouver  is,  "  The  vessel 
and  cargo  were  liberated,  and  Martinez  supplied  the  Iphigenia's  wants  from  the 
Princesa,  enabling  her,  by  so  doing,  to  prosecute  her  voyage  without  waiting  for  the 
return  of  Mr.  Mearos."  The  extremity  of  distress  to  which  the  Iphigenia  was  re- 
duced on  her  arrival  at  Nootka,  the  seven  hundred  sea  otter  skins,  and  the  other  ad- 
vantages derived  by  her  owners  from  the  supplies  furnished  by  the  Spanish  command- 
ant, are  carefully  kept  out  of  sight. 


416 


PBOOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


tc 


no  yestige  of  any  house  remaining.  As  to  (he  land  Mr.  Meares  r,aid  he 
purchased  of  Maquinna  or  any  other  chief,  we  cannot  say  further  ihan  we 
never  heard  of  any;  although  we  remained  among  these  people  nine 
months,  and  could  converse  with  them  perfectly  well.  Besides  this,  we 
have  asked  Maquinna  and  other  chiefs,  since  our  late  arrival,  if  Captain 
Meares  ever  purchased  any  land  in  Nootka  Sound ;  they  answered.  No ; 
that  Captain  Kendrick  was  the  only  man  to  whom  they  had  ever  sold 
any  and. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  the  schooner  North- West  America  arrived,  and 
the  next  day  the  Spaniards  took  possession  of  her.  Don  E.  J.  Martinez 
had  an  account  taken  of  the  property  on  board,  particularly  of  the  skins, 
which  he  said  should  be  given  to  the  officers  and  seamen,  that  they  might 
be  sure  of  their  wages.  On  the  16th  of  June,  the  sloop  Princess  Royal 
arrived  from  Macao,  commanded  by  Thomas  Hudson ;  this  vessel  brought 
accounts  of  the  aa?e  arrival  of  Captain  Meares,  and  that  Captain  Colnett 
was  coming  on  the  coast,  commodore  of  the  English  trading  vessels  from 
Macao  for  the  ensuing  season,  in  a  snow  named  the  Argonaut.  Mr. 
Hudson  likewise  brought  accounts  of  the  failure  of  Juan  Cravalia  &  Co., 
merchants  of  Macao,  before  mentioned.  What  right  the  commodore  had 
to  detain  the  North-West  America  before,  it  is  not  for  us  to  say ;  but  he 
always  said  it  was  an  agreement*  between  Captain  Douglas  and  himself; 
but,  after  the  arriv&l  of  this  vessel  with  the  above  news,  he  held  her  as 
security  for  the  bills  of  exchange  drawn  on  said  Cravalia  &.  Co.  in  favor 
of  his  Catholic  majesty  :  this  we  have  heard  him  say.  On  the  2d  of  July, 
the  Princess  Royal  sailed  out  of  the  port,  having,  to  our  knowledge,  been 
treated  by  the  commodore  and  his  officers  with  every  possible  attention, 
which  Captain  Hudson  himself  seemed  conscious  of  and  grateful  for. 
Prior  to  this  vessel's  sailing,  the  commodore  gave  to  Mr.  Funter  all  the 
skins  he  brought  in  in  the  North- West  America,  which  were  shipped  on 
board  the  sloop  Princess  Royal  by  Mr.  Funter,  for  his  own  account.  In 
the  evening  of  the  2d,  a  sail  was  descried  from  the  Spanish  fort.  We 
were  among  the  first  that  went  out  to  meet  them.  It  proved  to  be  the 
Argonaut,  Captain  Colnett,  before  mentioned.  The  transactions  oi'  this 
vessel  were  such,  that  we  can  give  the  sense  of  them  in  a  few  words,  that 
may  answer  eve.y  purpose  of  the  particulars,  many  of  which  are  not  im- 
mediately to  the  point,  or  tending  to  what  we  suppose  you  wish  to  know. 

It  seems  Captain  Meares,  with  some  othcT  Englishmen  at  Macao,  had 
concluded  to  erect  a  fort  and  settle  a  colony  in  Nootka  Sound ;  from  what 
authority  we  cannot  say.  However,  on  the  arrival  of  the  Argonaut,  we 
heard  Captain  Colnett  inform  the  Spanish  commodore  he  had  come  for 
that  purpose,  and  to  hoist  the  British  flag,  take  formal  possession,  &.c. : 

*  The  account  of  the  acizure  of  the  North-West  America  in  the  letter  is  thua 
presented  by  Vancouver :  — 

"  The  North- West  America  is  stated  by  these  gentlemen  to  have  arrived  on  the 
8th  of  June,  and  that,  on  the  followmg  dfay,  the  Spaniards  took  possession  of  her. 
Ten  days  afterwards  came  the  Princess  Royal,  commanded  by  Mr.  Hudson,  fVom 
Macao,  who  brought  the  news  of  the  failure  of  the  merchant  at  Macao,  to  whom  the 
Iphigenia  and  other  vessels  belonged ;  that  Martinez  assigned  this  as  a  reason  for 
hia  capturing  the  North- West  America,  (although  she  was  seized  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Princess  Royal ;)  that  he  had  detained  her  as  an  indemnification  for  the  bills  of 
exchange  drawn  on  her  owner  in  favor  of  his  Catholic  majesty." 

The  parenthesis  is  here  inserted  obviously  with  the  intention  of  creating  the  im- 
preaaion  that  Gray  and  Ingraham  had  committed  a  falaehood  or  inconsiatency  in  their 
evidence ;  although  this  idea  is  apecially  contradicted  in  the  letter. 


[c. 


a] 


PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


417 


is  thus 


to  which  the  cominodore  answered,  he  had  taken  possession  already  in  the 
name  of  his  Catholic  majesty ;  on  which  Captain  Colnett  asked  if  he 
would  be  prevented  from  building  a  house  in  the  port.  The  commodore, 
mistaking  his  meaning,  answered  him,  he  was  at  liberty  to  erect  a  tent, 
get  wood  and  water,  dec,  after  which  he  was  at  liberty  to  depart  when  he 
pleased ;  but  Captain  Colnett  said  that  was  not  what  he  wanted,  but  to 
build  a  block  house,  erect  a  fort,  and  settle  a  colony,  for  the  crown  of 
Great  Britain.  Don  Estevan  Jose  Martinez  answered.  No;  that,  in  doiug 
that,  he  should  violate  the  orders  of  his  king,  run  a  risk  of  losing  his 
commission,  and  not  only  that,  but  it  would  be  relinquishing  the  Span- 
iards' claim  to  the  coast :  besides,  Don  Martinez  observed,  the  vessels  did 
not  belong  to  the  king,  nor  was  he  intrusted  with  powers  to  transact  such 
public  business.  On  which  Captain  Colnett  answered,  he  was  a  king's 
officer ;  but  Don  Estevan  replied,  his  being  in  the  navy  was  of  no  conse- 
quence in  the  b'usiness.  *  In  conversing  on  the  subject,  after  the  arrival 
of  the  vessel  in  port,  it  seems  Captain  Colnett  insulted  the  commodore  by 
threatening  him,  and  drew  his  sword  in  the  Princesa's  cabin ;  on  which 
Don  Martinez  ordered  the  vessel  to  be  seized.  We  did  not  see  him  draw 
lus  sword,  but  were  informed  of  the  circumstance  by  those  whose  veracity 
we  had  no  reason  to  doubt.  After  seizing  the  Argonaut,  the  sloop  Prin 
cess  Royal  arrived  a  second  time ;  and,  as  she  belonged  to  the  same  com- 
pany,  the  commodore  took  possession  of  her  also.  With  respect  to  the 
treatment  of  the  prisoners,  although  we  have  not  perused  Mr.  Meares's 
publication,  we  presume  none  of  them  will  be  backward  in  confessing 
that  Don  E.  J.  Martinez  always  treated  them  very  kindly,  and  all  his 
officers,  consistent  with  the  character  of  gentlemen. 

Having  acquainted  you  with  the  principal  part  of  the  business,  agree- 
able to  request,  one  thing  remains  to  answer,  which  is,  of  the  captain, 
officers,  and  seamen,  of  the  North- West  America.  You  ask  if  we  car- 
ried them  to  China.  We  did,  and  with  them  one  hundred  sea  otter  skins, 
the  value  of  which,  we  judge,  independent  of  freight,  was  four  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars;  these  were  delivered  to  Mr. 
Meares,  and  were,  we  suppose,  his  property.  We  sincerely  hope,  sir, 
when  things  are  represented  with  truth,  it  will  rescue  our  friend  Don 
Estevan  J.  Martinez  from  censure ;  at  least,  that  he  may  not  be  deemed 
an  impostor  and  a  pirate,  which  many,  from  only  hearing  one  part  of  the 
story,  supposed  he  was.  As  to  the  treatment  of  the  Americans  by  Don 
Estevan,  we  have  ever  testified  it  in  terms  due  to  such  hospitality,  and 
are  happy  again  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  do  what  we  deem  justice  to  his 
conduct.  While  speaking  of  others  of  your  nation,  we  caa  never  be  un- 
mindful of  you.  Your  kind  reception  and  treatment  of  us  has  made  an 
impression  that  will  not  be  easily  erased ;  and  we  hope  you  will  bear  in 
mind  how  very  sincerely  we  are,  sir,  your  most  humble  servants, 

Robert  Gray, 
Joseph  Inoraham. 

*  Vancouver  here  writes, — using  iLe  first  person,  as  if  copying  the  words  of  the 
American  captains,  — "  In  conversation  afterwards  on  tliis  subject,  as  we  were  in- 
forn;3d,  (say  these  gentlemen,)  — for  we  were  not  present  during  this  transaction, — 
some  dispute  arose  in  the  Princesa's  cabin ;  on  which  Don  Martmez  ordered  the  Ar- 

Sonaut  to  be  seized.    Soon  after  this  the  Princess  Royal  returned,"  &o. ;  the  rumor 
lat "  Colnttt  insulted  the  commodore  by  threatening  Mm,  and  dr«u>  Am  neord  in  th» 
Prinee$a'a  cabin,"  being  omitted. 

53 


418 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


ID. 


D. 


OrriciAL  Documents  relative  to  the  Dispute  between  Great 
Britain  and  Spain  in  1790.'"' 


(I.) 

Message  from  the  King  of  Great  Britain  to  Parliament,  May  5tk,  1790. 

George  R. 

His  majesty  has  received  information  that  two  vessels,  belonging 
to  his  majesty's  subjects,  and  navigated  under  the  British  flag,  and  two 
others,  of  which  the  description  is  not  hitherto  sufficiently  ascertained, 
have  been  captured  at  Nootka  Sound,  on  the  north-western  coast  of 
America,  by  an  officer  commanding  two  Spanish  ships  of  war;  that  the 
cargoes  of  the  British  vessels  have  been  seized,  and  that  their  officers  and 
crews  have  been  sent  as  prisoners  to  a  Spanish  port. 

The  caj^'ture  of  one  of  these  vessels  had  before  been  notified  by  the 
ambassador  of  his  Catholic  majesty,  by  order  of  his  court,  who,  at  the 
same  time,  desired  that  measures  might  be  taken  for  preventing  his  majes- 
ty's subjects  from  frequenting  those  coasts,  which  were  alleged  to  have 
been  previously  occupied  and  frequented  by  the  subjects  of  Spain.  Com- 
plaints were  also  made  of  the  fisheries  carried  on  by  his  majesty's  subjects 
in  the  seas  adjoining  to  the  Spanish  continent,  as  being  contrary  to  the 
rights  of  the  crown  of  Spain.  In  consequence  of  this  communication,  a 
demand  was  immediately  made,  by  his  majesty's  order,  for  adequate  satis- 
faction, and  for  the  restitution  of  the  vessel,  previous  to  any  other  dis- 
cussion. 

Py  the  answer  from  the  court  of  Spain,  it  appears  that  this  vessel  and 
her  crew  had  been  set  at  liberty  by  the  viceroy  of  Mexico;  but  this  is 
represented  to  have  been  done  by  him  on  the  supposition  that  nothing  but 
the  ignorance  of  the  rights  of  Spain  encouraged  the  individuals  of  other 
nations  to  come  to  those  coasts  for  the  purpose  of  making  establishments, 
or  carrying  on  trade,  and  in  conformity  to  his  previous  instructions,  re- 
quiring him  to  show  all  possible  regard  to  the  British  nation. 

No  satisfaction  is  made  or  offered,  and  a  direct  claim  is  asserted  by  the 
court  of  Spain  to  the  exclusive  rights  of  sovereignty,  navigation,  and 
commerce,  in  the  territories,  coasts,  and  seas,  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

His  majesty  has  now  directed  his  minister  at  Madrid  to  make  a  fresh 
representation  on  ;  lis  subject,  and  to  claim  such  full  and  adequate  satis- 
faction as  the  nature  of  the  case  evidently  requires.  And,  under  Nthese 
circumstances,  his  majesty,  having  also  received  information  that  consid- 
erable armaments  are  carrying  on  in  the  ports  of  Spain,  has  judged  it 
indispensably  necessary  to  give  orders  for  making  such  preparations  as 
may  put  it  in  his  majesty's  power  to  act  with  vigor  and  eflect  in  support 
of  the  honor  of  his  crown  and  the  interests   of  his  people.     And  his 

*  The  following  papers,  with  the  exception  of  the  last,  are  taken  from  the  London 
Annual  Register  for  17'M.  The  translations  of  the  Spanish  notes  ore  evidently  mad* 
Yith  little  care.    See  chap.  ix.  of  this  History. 


a] 


PROOTS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


419 


y  the 

and 

world. 

fresh 

satis- 

these 

onsid- 

gred  it 

as 


majesty  recommends  :'  i  his  faithful  Commons,  on  whose  zeal  and  pitibHc 
spirii  he  has  the  mos  prr.'ect  reliance,  to  enable  him  to  take  such  meas- 
ures, and  to  make  sucn  augmentation  of  his  forces,  as  may  be  eventually 
necessary  for  this  purpose. 

It  is  his  majesty's  earnest  wish  that  the  justice  of  his  majesty's  demands 
may  insure,  from  the  wisdom  and  equity  of  his  Catholic  majesty,  the  sat- 
isfaction which  is  so  unquestionably  due,  and  that  this  aflfuir  may  be  termi- 
nated in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  any  grounds  of  misunderstanding  in 
future,  and  to  continue  and  confirm  that  harmony  and  friendship  which 
has  so  happily  subsisted  between  the  two  courts,  and  which  his  majesty 
will  always  endeavor  to  maintain  and  improve,  by  all  such  means  as  afe 
consistent  with  the  dignity  of  his  majesty's  crown  and  the  essential  intereatd 
of  his  subjects. 

Q.  R. 

(2.) 

Declaration  of  the  King  of  Spain  to  all  the  other  Courts  of  EuropeJ 

Aranjuez,  June  4th,  1790. 

The  king,  being  apprized  of  the  particulars  laid  before  his  ministers, 
on  the  16th  of  May,  by  Mr.  Merry,  his  Britannic  majesty's  minister, 
relative  to  the  unexpected  dispute  between  this  court  and  Great  Britain, 
as  to  the  vessels  captured  in  Port  St.  Lawrence,  or  Nootka  Sound,  on  the 
coast  of  California,  in  the  South  Sea,  has  commanded  the  undersigned, 
his  majesty's  first  secretary  of  state,  to  answer  to  the  said  minister  of 
England,  that  he  had  the  honor  to  make  known  personally,  and  in  writing, 
to  the  said  minister,  upon  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  that  his  majesty 
at  no  time  pretended  to  any  rights  in  any  ports,  seas,  or  places,  other  than 
what  belongs  to  his  crown  by  the  most  solemn  treaticH,  recognized  by  all 
nations,  and  more  particularly  with  Great  Britain,  by  u  right  founded  on 
particular  treaties,  the  uniform  consent  of  both  nations,  and  by  an  imme- 
morial, regular,  and  established  possession ;  that  his  majesty  is  ready  to 
enter  upon  every  examination  and  discussion  most  likely  to  terminate  the 
dispute  in  an  amicable  way,  and  is  willing  to  enter  into  immediate  con- 
ference with  the  new  ambassador,  and,  if  justice  requires  it,  will  certainly 
disapprove  of  the  conduct,  and  punish  his  subjects,  if  they  have  gone 
beyond  their  powers.  This  offer  and  satisfaction  will,  it  is  hoped,  serve 
as  an  example  to  the  court  of  London  to  do  as  much  on  its  part. 

As  the  two  courts  of  London  and  Madrid  have  not  yet  received  proper 
and  authenticated  accounts  and  proofs  of  all  that  has  really  passed  in 
these  distant  latitudes,  a  contradiction  in  the  development  of  facts  has  by 
this  means  been  occasioned.  Even  at  this  moment,  the  papers  and  min- 
utes made  up  by  the  viceroy  of  New  Spain  on  this  matter  are  not  arrived. 
Posterior  letters,  indeed,  say  that  the  English  vessel,  the  Argonaut,  had 
not  been  seized  and  confiscated  till  legally  condemned,  and  that  the  small 
vessel,  called  the  Princess  Royal,  which  had  afterwards  arrived,  was  not 
seized  or  confiscated,  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  full  restitution  was  made 
by  the  viceroy,  and  an  obligation  only  taken  from  the  captain  to  piij  the 
price  of  the  vessel,  if  she  was  declared  a  lawful  prize;  and  on  the  precise 
same  terms  he  had  liberated  a  Portuguese  vessel  belonging  to  Macao,  and 
two  American  vessels.  These  particulars  will  be  more  explicitly  proved 
and  elucidated  on  the  arrival  of  the  necessary  papers. 


420 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[D. 


The  first  time  that  our  ambassador  made  a  public  notification  of  this 
matter  to  the  ministry  at  London,  on  the  10th  of  February  last,  many  of 
the  circumstances  that  are  now  certain  were  then  doubtful.  The  rights 
and  immemorial  possession  of  Spain  to  that  coast  and  ports,  as  well  as 
several  other  titles  proper  to  be  taken  into  view  in  a  pacific  negotiation, 
were  not  quite  certain ;  and,  if  the  court  of  London  had  made  an  ami- 
cable return  to  the  complaints  made  by  his  majesty  relative  to  those  mer- 
chants whom  Spain  regards  as  usurpers  and  the  violators  of  treaties,  and 
had  showed  any  desire  to  terminate  the  affair  by  an  amicable  accommo- 
dation, a  great  deal  of  unnecessary  expense  might  have  been  saved.  The 
high  and  menacing  tone  and  manner  in  which  the  answer  of  the  British 
minister  was  couched,  at  a  time  when  no  certain  information  of  the  par- 
ticulars had  arrived,  made  the  Spanish  cabinet  entertain  some  suspicions 
that  it  was  made  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  the  dispute  in  question, 
as  a  pretext  to  break  entirely  with  our  court ;  for  which  reason  it  was 
thought  necessary  to  take  some  precautions  relative  to  the  subject. 

On  a  late  occasion,  a  complaint  was  made  to  the  court  of  Pussia,  as 
to  some  similar  points  relative  to  the  navigation  of  the  South  Sea.  A 
candid  ansv>er  being  returned  by  that  court,  the  affair  was  terminated 
without  the  least  disagreement.  Indeed,  it  may  be  asserted  with  truth, 
that  the  manner,  much  more  than  the  substance,  has  produced  the  dis- 
putes that  have  taken  place  on  this  head  with  Great  Britain. 

Nevertheless,  the  king  does  deny  —  what  the  enemies  to  peace  have 
industriously  circulated  —  that  Spain  extends  oretensions  and  rights  of 
sovereignty  over  the  whole  of  the  South  Sea  as  far  as  China.  When  the 
words  are  made  use  of,  "  In  the  name  of  the  king,  his  sovereignty,  navi- 
gation, and  exclusive  commerce  to  the  continent  and  islands  of  the  South 
Sea,"  it  is  the  manner  in  which  Spain,  in  speaking  of  the  Iisdies,  has 
always  used  these  words;  that  is  to  say,  to  the  continent,  islands,  and 
seas,  which  belong  to  his  majesty,  so  far  as  discoveries  have  been  made 
and  secured  to  him  by  treaties  and  immemorial  possession,  and  uniformly 
acquiesced  in,  notwithstanding  some  infringements  by  individuals,  who 
have  been  punished  upon  knowledge  of  their  offences :  and  the  king  sets 
up  no  pretensions  to  any  possessions,  the  right  to  which  he  cannot  prove 
by  irrefragable  titles. 

Although  Spain  may  not  have  establishments  or  colonies  planted  upon 
the  coasts  or  in  the  ports  in  dispute,  it  does  not  follow  that  such  coast  or 
port  does  not  belong  to  her.  If  this  rule  were  to  be  followed,  one  nation 
might  establish  colonies  on  the  coasts  of  another  nation,  in  America,  Asia, 
Africa,  and  Europe,  by  which  means  there  would  be  no  fixed  boundaries 
—  a  circumstance  evidently  absurd. 

But,  whatever  may  be  the  issue  of  the  question  of  right,  upon  a  ma- 
ture consideration  of  the  cb.ims  of  both  parties,  the  result  of  the  question 
of  fact  is,  that  the  capture  of  the  English  vessels  is  repaired  by  the  resti- 
tution that  has  been  made,  and  the  conduct  of  the  viceroy :  for,  as  to  the 
qualification  of  such  restitution,  and  whether  the  prize  was  lawful  or  not, 
♦hat  respects  the  question  of  right  yet  to  be  investigated ;  that  is  to  say, 
«♦*  it  has  been  agreeably  to,  or  in  contradiction  to,  the  treaties  relative  to 
the  rights  and  possessions  of  Spain.  Lastly,  the  king  will  readily  ehtei 
into  any  plan  by  which  future  disputes  on  this  subject  may  be  obviated, 
that  no  reproach  may  be  upon  him  as  having  refused  any  means  of  recon- 
ciliation, and  (or  the  establishment  of  a  solid  and  permanent  peace,  not 


m* 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


421 


only  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain,  but  also  between  all  nations ;  for 
the  accomplishment  of  which  object,  his  majesty  has  made  the  greatest 
efforts  in  all  the  courts  of  Europe,  which  he  certainly  would  not  have 
done  if  he  had  any  design  to  involve  England  and  the  other  European 
powers  in  a  calamitous  and  destructive  war. 

El  Conoe  de  Florida  Blanca. 


'       (3.) 

Memorial  of  the  Court  of  Spain,  presented  by  Count  de  Florida  Blanca^ 
the  Spanish  Minister  of  State,  to  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  the  British  Ambas- 
sador  at  Madrid. 

Madrid,  June  l3tA,  1790. 

By  every  treaty  upon  record  betwixt  Spain  and  the  other  nations  of 
Europe,  for  upwards  of  two  centuries,  an  exclusive  right  of  property, 
navigation,  and  commerce,  to  the  Spanish  West  Indies,  has  been  uniformly 
secured  to  Spain,  England  having  always  stood  forth  in  a  particular  man« 
ner  in  support  of  such  right. 

By  article  8th  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  (a  treaty  in  which  all  the 
European  nations  may  be  said  to  have  taken  a  part,)  Spain  and  England 
profess  to  establish  it  as  a  fundamental  principle  of  agreement,  that  the 
navigation  and  commerce  of  the  West  Indies,  under  the  dominion  of 
Spain,  shall  remain  in  the  precise  situation  in  which  they  stood  in  the 
reign  of  his  Catholic  majesty  Charles  II.,  and  that  that  rule  shall  be  invi- 
olably  adhered  to,  and  be  incapable  of  infringement. 

After  this  maxim,  the  two  powers  stipulated  that  Spain  should  never 
grant  liberty  or  permission  to  any  nation  to  trade  to,  or  introduce  their 
merchandises  into,  the  Spanish  American  dominions,  nor  to  sell,  cede, 
or  give  up,  to  any  other  nation  its  lands,  dominions,  or  territories,  or  any 
part  thereof.  On  the  contrary,  and  in  order  that  its  territories  should  be 
preserved  whole  and  entire,  England  offers  to  aid  and  assist  the  Spaniards 
in  reestablishing  the  limits  of  their  American  dominions,  and  placing 
them  in  the  exact  situation  they  stood  in  at  the  time  of  his  said  Catholic 
majesty  Charles  IT.,  if,  by  accident,  it  shall  be  discovered  that  they  have 
undergone  any  alteration  to  the  prejudice  of  Spain,  in  whatever  manner 
or  pretext  such  alteration  may  have  been  brought  about. 

The  vast  extent  of  the  Spanish  territories,  navigation,  and  dominion, 
on  the  continent  of  America,  isles  and  seas  contiguous  to  the  South  Sea, 
are  clearly  laid  down,  and  authenticated  by  a  variety  of  documents,  laws, 
and  formal  acts  of  possession,  in  the  reign  of  King  Charles  II.  It  is  also 
clearly  ascertained,  that,  notwithstanding  the  repeated  attempts  made  by 
adventurers  and  pirates  on  the  Spanish  coasts  of  the  South  Sea  and  adja- 
cent islands,  Spain  has  still  preserved  her  possessions  entire,  and  opposed 
with  success  those  usurpations,  by  constantly  sending  her  ships  and  vessels 
ij  take  possession  of  such  settlements.  By  these  measures  and  reiterated 
acts  of  pissession,  Spain  has  preserved  her  dominion,  which  she  has  ex- 
tended to  the  borders  of  the  Russian  establishments,  in  that  part  of  the 
world. 

The  viceroys  of  Peru  and  New  Spain  having  been  informed  that  these 
eeas  had  b^en.  for  some  years  past,  more  frequented  than  formerly, 


499 


PROOrS   AND   IliLUSTRATIONS. 


[a 


that  ■mugglinif  had  increased,  that  several  usurpations  prejudicial  to 
Spain  and  the  general  tranquillity  had  been  suffered  to  be  made,  they 
gave  orders  that  the  western  coasts  of  Spanish  America,  and  islands  and 
seas  adjacent,  should  be  more  frequently  navigated  and  explored. 

They  were  also  informed  that  several  Russian  vessels  were  upon  the 
point  of  making  commercial  establishments  upon  that  coast.  At  the  time 
that  Spain  demonstrated  to  Russia  the  inconveniences  attendant  upon 
such  encroachments,  she  entered  upon  the  negotiation  with  Russia,  upon 
the  supposition  that  the  Russian  navigators  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  had  no 
orders  to  make  establishments  within  the  limits  of  Spanish  America,  of 
which  the  Spaniards  were  the  first  possessors,  (limits  situated  within 
rince  William's  Strait,)  purposely  to  avoid  oil  dissensions,  and  in  order 
to  maintain  the  harmony  and  amity  which  Spain  wished  to  preserve. 

The  court  of  Russia  replied,  it  had  already  given  orders  that  its  sub- 
jects should  make  no  settlements  in  places  belonging  to  other  powers, 
and  that,  if  those  orders  had  been  violated,  and  any  had  been  made  in 
Spanish  America,  they  desired  the  king  would  put  a  stop  to  them  in  a 
friendly  manner.  To  this  pacific  language  on  the  part  of  Russia,  Spain 
observed  that  she  could  not  be  answerable  for  what  her  officers  might  do 
at  that  distance,  whose  general  orders  and  instructions  were,  not  to  permit 
any  settlements  to  be  made  by  other  nations  on  the  continent  of  Spanish 
America. 

Though  trespasses  had  been  made  by  the  English  on  some  of  the 
islands  of  those  coasts,  which  had  given  rise  to  similar  complaints  having 
been  made  to  the  court  of  London,  Spain  did  not  know  that  the  English 
had  endeavored  to  make  any  settlements  on  the  northern  part  of  the 
Southern  Ocean,  till  the  commanding  officer  of  a  Spanish  ship,  in  the 
usual  tour  of  the  coasts  of  California,  found  two  American  vessels  in  St. 
Laurence,  or  Nootka  Harbor,  whe.e  he  was  going  for  provisions  and  stores. 
These  vessels  he  permitted  to  proceed  on  their  voyage,  it  appearing,  fiom 
their  papers,  that  they  were  driven  there  by  distress,  and  only  came  in 
to  refit. 

He  also  found  there  the  Iphigenia,  from  Macao,  under  Portuguesb 
colors,  which  had  a  passport  from  the  governor ;  nnd,  though  he  came 
manifestly  with  a  view  to  trade  there,  yet  the  Spanish  admiral,  when  he 
saw  his  instructions,  gave  him  leave  to  depart,  upon  his  signing  an  en- 
gagement to  pay  the  value  of  the  vessel,  should  the  government  of  Mexico 
declare  it  a  lawful  prize. 

With  this  vessel  there  came  a  second,  which  the  admiral  detained, 
and,  a  few  days  after,  a  third,  named  the  Argonaut,  from  the  above- 
mentioned  place.  The  captain  of  this  latter  vas  an  Englishman.  He 
came  not  only  to  trade,  but  brought  every  thing  with  him  proper  to  form 
a  settlement  there,  and  to  fortify  it.  This,  notwithstanding  the  remon- 
strances of  the  Spanish  admiral,  he  persevered  in,  and  was  detained,  to- 
gether with  his  vessel. 

After  him  came  a  fourth  English  vessel,  named  the  Princess  Royal, 
and  evidently  for  the  same  purposes.  She,  likewise,  was  detained,  and 
sent  to  Port  St.  Bias,  where  the  pilot  of  the  Argonaut  made  away  with 
himself 

The  viceroy,  on  being  informed  of  these  particulars,  gave  orders  that 
the  captain  and  the  vessels  should  be  released,  and  that  they  should  have 
leave  to  refit,  without  declaring  them  a  lawful  prize ;  and  this  he  did,  on 


<«} 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


438 


in 


account  of  the  ignorance  of  the  proprietors,  and  the  friendship  which 
subsisted  between  the  two  courts  of  London  and  Madrid. 

He  also  gave  them  leave  to  return  to  Macao  with  their  cargo,  after 
capitulating  with. them  in  the  same  manner  as  with  the  Portuguese  cap- 
tain, and  leaving  the  aiFair  to  be  finally  determined  by  the  Count  de 
Revillagigedo,  his  successor,  who  also  gave  them  their  liberty. 

As  soon  as  the  court  of  Madrid  had  received  an  account  of  the 
detention  of  the  first  English  vessel  at  Nootka  Sound,  and  before  that  of 
the  second  arrived,  it  ordered  its  ambassador  at  London  to  make  a  report 
thereof  to  the  English  minister,  which  he  did  on  the  10th  of  February 
last,  and  to  require  that  the  parties  who  had  planned  these  expeditions 
should  be  punished,  in  order  to  deter  others  from  making  settlements  on 
territories  occupied  and  frequented  by  the  Spaniards  for  a  number  of  years. 

In  the  ambassador's  memorial,  mention  was  only  made  of  the  Spanish 
admiral  that  commanded  the  present  armament,  having  visited  Nootka 
Sound  in  1774,  though  that  harbor  had  been  frequently  visited,  both 
before  and  since,  with  the  usual  forms  of  taking  possession.  These  forms 
were  repeated  more  particularly  in  the  years  1755  and  1779,  all  along  the 
coasts  as  far  as  Prince  William's  Sound ;  and  it  was  these  acts  that  gave 
occasion  to  the  memorial  made  by  the  court  of  Russia,  as  has  been 
already  noticed. 

The  Spanish  ambassador  at  London  did  not  represent  in  this  memo- 
rial at  that  time,  that  the  right  of  Spain  to  these  coasts  was  conformable 
to  ancient  boundaries,  which  had  been  guarantied  by  England  at  the 
treaty  ^of  Utrecht,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  deeming  it  to  be  unneces- 
sary ;  'as  orders  had  been  given,  and  vessels  had  actually  been  seized  on 
those  coasts,  so  far  back  as  1692. 

The  answer  that  the  English  ministry  gave,  on  the  26th  of  February, 
was,  that  they  had  not  as  yet  been  informed  of  the  facts  stated  by  the 
ambassador,  and  that  the  act  of  violence,  mentioned  in  his  memorial, 
necessarily  suspended  any  discussion  of  the  claims  therein,  till  an  adequate 
atonement  had  been  made  for  a  proceeding  so  injurious  to  Great  Britain. 

In  addition  to  this  haughty  language  of  the  British  minister,  he  fur-  ^ 
ther  added,  that  the  ship  must  in  the  first  place  be  restored  ;  and  that, 
with  respect  to  any  future  stipulations,  it  would  be  necessary  to  wait  for  a 
more  full  detail  of  all  the  circumstances  of  this  affair. 

The  harsh  and  laconic  style  in  which  this  answer  was  given,  made  the 
court  of  Madrid  suspect  that  the  king  of  Great  Britain's  ministers  were 
forming  other  plans;  and  they  were  the  more  induced  to  think  so,  as 
there  were  reports  that  they  were  going  to  fit  out  two  fleets,  one  for  the 
Mediterranean  and  the  other  for  the  Baltic.  This,  of  course,  obliged 
Spain  to  increase  the  small  squadron  she  was  getting  ready  to  exercise 
her  marine. 

The  court  of  Spain  then  ordered  her  ambassador  at  London  to  pre 
sent  a  memorial  to  the  British  ministry,  setting  forth  that,  though  the 
crown  of  Spain  had  an  indubitable  right  to  the  continent,  islands,  harbors, 
and  coasts,  of  that  part  of  the  world,  founded  on  treaties  and  immemorial 
possession,  yet,  as  the  viceroy  of  Mexico  had  released  the  vessels  that  were 
detained,  the  king  looked  upon  the  affair  as  concluded,  without  entering 
into  any  disputes  or  diiicussions  on  the  undoubted  rights  of  Spain  ;  and, 
desiring  to  give  a  proof  of  his  friendship  for  Great  Britain,  he  should  rest 
satisfied  if  she  ordered  that  her  subiects,  in  future,  respected  those  right* 


f 


434 


PROOFS   AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[D 


*  As  if  Spain,  in  this  answer,  had  laid  claim  to  the  empire  of  that 
ocean,  though  she  only  spoke  of  what  belonged  to  her  by  treaties,  and  as 
if  it  had  been  so  grievous  an  offence  to  terminate  this  affair  by  restitution 
of  the  only  vessel  which  was  then  known  to  have  been  taken,  it  excited 
such  clamor  and  agitation  in  the  Parliament  of  England,  that  the  most 
vigorous  preparations  for  war  have  been  commenced ;  and  those  powers 
disinclined  to  peace  charge  Spain  with  designs  contrary  to  her  known 
principles  of  honor  and  probity,  as  well  as  to  the  tranquillity  of  Europe, 
which  the  Spanish  monarch  and  his  ministers  have  always  had  in  view. 

While  England  was  employed  in  making  the  greatest  armaments  and 
preparations,  that  court  made  answer  to  the  Spanish  ambassador,  (upon 
the  5th  of  May,)  that  the  acts  of  violence  committed  against  the  British 
flag  "  rendered  it  necessary  for  the  sovereign  to  charge  his  minister  at 
Madrid  to  renew  thp  remonstrances,  (being  the  answer  of  England 
already  mentioned,)  and  to  require  that  satisfaction  which  his  majesty 
thought  he  had  an  indisputable  right  to  demand." 

To  this  was  added  a  declaration  not  to  enter  formally  into  the  matter 
until  a  satisfactory  answer  was  obtained ;  "  and  at  the  same  time  the 
memorial  of  Spain  should  not  include  in  it  the  question  of  right; "  which 
formed  a  most  essential  part  of  the  discussion. 

The  British  administration  offer,  in  the  same  answer,  to  take  the 
most  effectual  and  pacific  measures,  that  the  English  subjects  shall  not 
act  "  against  the  just  and  acknowledged  rights  of  Spain,  but  that  they 
cannot  at  present  accede  to  the  pretensions  of  absolute  sovereignty,  com- 
merce, and  navigation,  which  appeared  to  be  the  principal  object. of  the 
memorials  of  the  ambassador ;  and  that  the  king  of  England  considers  it 
as  a  duty  incumbent  upon  him  to  protect  his  subjects  in  the  enjoyment  of 
the  right  of  continuing  their  fishery  in  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

If  this  pretension  is  found  to  trespass  upon  the  ancient  boundaries 
laid  down  in  the  reign  of  King  Charles  II.,  and  guarantied  by  England 
in  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  as  Spain  believes,  it  appears  that  that  court  will 
have  good  reason  for  disputi.:^  and  opposing  this  claim ;  and  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  equity  of  the  British  administration  will  suspend  and 
restrict  it  accordingly. 

In  consequence  of  the  foregoing  answer,  the  charge  d'affaires  from  the 
court  of  London  at  Madrid  insisted,  in  a  memorial  of  the  16th  of  May, 
on  restitution  of  the  vessel  detained  at  Nootka,  and  the  property  therein 
contained  ;  on  an  indemnification  for  the  losses  sustained,  and  on  a  repa- 
ration proportioned  to  the  injury  done  to  the  English  subjects  trading 
under  the  British  flag,  and  that  they  have  an  indisputable  right  to  the 
enjoyment  of  a  free  and  uninterrupted  navigation,  commerce,  and  fishery; 
and  to  the  possession  of  such  establishments  as  they  should  form  with  the 
consent  of  the  natives  of  the  country,  not  previously  occupied  by  any  of 
the  European  nations. 

An  explicit  and  prompt  answer  was  desired  upon  this  head,  in  such 
terms  as  might  tend  to  calm  the  anxieties,  and  to  maintain  the  friendship, 
subsisting  between  the  two  courts. 

The  charge  d'affaires  having  observed  that  a  suspension  of  the 
Spanish  armaments  would  contribute  to  tranquillity,  upon  the  terms  to 
be  communicated  by  the  British  administration,  an  answer  was  made  by 
the  Spanish  administration,  that  the  king  was  sincerely  inclined  to  disarm 
upon  the  principles  of  reciprocity,  and  proportioned  to  the  circumstances 


[D 


D.] 


PBOOrS    AMD    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


485 


of  the  two  courts ;  adding  that  the  court  of  Spain  was  actuated  by  the 
most  pacific  intentions,  and  a  desire  to  give  every  satisfaction  and  indein- 
niiication,  if  justice  was  not  on  their  side,  provided  England  did  as  much 
if  she  was  found  to  be  in  the  wrong. 

This  answer  must  convince  ail  the  courts  of  Europe  that  the  conduct 
of  the  king  and  his  administration  is  consonant  to  the  invariable  principles 
of  justice,  truth,  and  peace. 

El  Conde  de  Florida  Blanca. 


(4.) 

Letter  from  Count  de  Fernan  Nufiex,  the  Spanish  Ambassador  at  Paris, 
to  M.  de  Montmorin,  the  Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Department  of 
France. 

■'!'■■  p r.Rii,  June  16th,  1790. 

Sir, 

I  have  the  honor  to  address  you,  with  this,  a  faithful  extract  of 
all  the  transactions  which  have  hitherto  passed  between  my  court  and  that 
of  London,  on  the  subject  of  the  detention  of  two  English  vessels,  which 
were  seized  in  the  Bay  of  St.  Lawrence,  or  Nootka,  situated  in  the  50th 
degree  to  the  north  of  California,  and  which  were  afterwards  taken  to  the 
port  of  St.  Bias. 

You  will  observe  by  this  relation, 

1.  That,  by  the  treaties,  demarkations,  takings  of  possession,  and  the 
most  d<  cided  acts  of  sovereignty  exercised  by  the  Spaniards  in  these 
stations,  from  the  reign  of  Charles  IL,  and  authorized  by  that  monarch  in 
1692,  the  original  vouchers  fur  which  shall  be  brought  forward  in  the 
course  of  the  negotiation,  all  the  coast  to  the  north  of  the  Western  Amer- 
ica, on  the  side  of  the  South  Sea,  as  far  as  beyond  what  is  called  Prince 
William's  Sound,  which  is  in  the  Gist  degree,  is  acknowledged  to  belong 
exclusively  to  Spain. 

2.  That  the  court  of  Russia,  having  been  informed  of  this  extent  of 
our  boundary,  assured  the  king,  my  master,  without  the  least  delay,  of 
the  purity  of  its  intentions  in  this  respect,  and  added,  "  That  it  was 
extremely  sorry  that  the  repeated  orders  issued  to  prevent  the  subjects  of 
Russia  from  violating,  in  the  smallest  degree,  the  territory  belonging  to 
another'power,  should  have  been  disobeyed." 

3.  That  the  state  of  the  possessions  and  exclusive  •lommerce  on  the 
sea-coast  of  the  Southern  Ocean,  as  it  existed  in  the  time  of  Charles  IL, 
had  been  acknowledged  and  defined  anew  by  all  the  nations  of  Europe, 
and  more  particularly  by  England,  in  the  eighth  article  of  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht. 

4.  That,  notwithstanding  the  just  title  he  has  to  a  preservation  of  his 
ancient  rights,  the  king,  my  master,  has  approved  of  the  conduct  of  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  who,  in  consequence  of  his  general  orders  and  instruc- 
tions for  the  preservation  of  peace  with  every  power,  took  upon  himself  to 
release  the  vessels  seized  in  the  port  of  Nootka,  upon  a  supposition  that 
the  conduct  of  their  captains  was  a  consequence  of  their  total  ignorance 
with  respect  to  the  legitimacy  of  the  rights  of  Spain  on  those  coasts. 

It  is  in  consequence  of  the  desire  of  his  Catholic  majesty  to  pre- 
serve peace  to  himself,  and  to  establish  the  general  tranquillity  of  Europe, 

54 


496 


PROOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATION!}. 


[ft 


that  he  haa  taken  the  steps  you  will  observe  in  the  said  extract,  and  that 
he  has  commenced  an  amicable  and  direct  negotiation  with  England, 
which  he  will  Anish  with  Mr.  Fitzherbert,  the  new  ambassador  sent 
from  that  court  to  the  court  of  Madrid.  We  are  in  hopes  that  the  con- 
sequences  of  this  negotiation  will  be  favorable ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  we 
must  employ  all  the  necessary  means  to  make  it  so. 

All  immediate  and  exact  accomplishment  of  the  treaty  signed  at  Paris, 
the  15th  of  August,  1761,  under  the  title  of  the  Family  Compact,  becomes 
an  indispensable  preliminary  to  a  successful  negotiation.  It  is  in  conse- 
quence of  the  absolute  necessity  which  Spain  finds  of  having  recourse  to 
the  succor  of  France,  that  the  king,  my  master,  orders  me  to  demand 
expressly  what  France  can  do  in  the  present  circumstances  to  assist 
Spain,  according  to  the  mutual  engagements  stipulated  by  the  treaties. 
His  Catholic  majesty  desires  that  the  armaments,  as  well.tts  other  proper 
measures  to  fulfil  and  realize  these  sacred  engagements,  be  immediately 
put  in  execution.  He  charges  me  to  add  further,  that  the  present  state 
of  this  unforeseen  business  requires  a  very  speedy  determination,  and  that 
the  measures  which  the  court  of  France  shall  take  for  his  assistance,  shall 
be  so  active,  so  clear,  and  so  positive,  as  to  prevent  even  the  smallest 
ground  for  suspicion.  Otherwise  his  most  Christian  majesty  must  not  be 
surprised  that  Spain  should  seek  other  friends  and  ditferent  allies  among 
all  the  powers  of  Europe,  without  excepting  any  one,  upon  whose  assist- 
ance she  can  rely  in  case  of  need.  The  ties  of  blood  and  personal  friend- 
ship which  unite  our  two  sovereigns,  and  particularly  the  reciprocal 
interest  which  exists  between  two  nations  united  by  nature,  shall  be 
respected  in  all  new  arrangements,  as  far  as  circumstances  will  permit. 

This,  sir,  is  the  positive  demand  which  I  am  obliged  to  make,  and  in 
consequence  of  which  I  hope  his  most  Christian  majesty  will  immediately 
take  puch  measures  as  shall  seem  most  suitable,  in  the  present  circum- 
stances, to  satisfy  my  master,  in  an  object  so  interesting  and  important  to 
the  preservation  of  his  legal  rights,  and  the  honor  of  his  nation. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c., 

El  Conde  de  Fernan  Nunez. 


(6.) 
Letter  from  Mr.  Fitzherbert  to  Count  de  Florida  Blanca. 


Sir, 


Madrid,  [probably,]  June  16(A,  1790. 


In  compliance  with  your  excellency's  desire,  I  have  now  the 
honor  to  communicate  to  you,  in  writing,  what  I  observed  to  you  in  the 
conversation  we  had  the  day  before  yesterday. 
The  substance  of  these  observations  are  briefly  these :  — 
The  court  of  London  is  animated  with  the  most  sincere  desire  of 
terminating  the  difference  that  at  present  subsists  between  it  and  the 
court  of  Madrid,  relative  to  the  port  of  Nootka,  and  the  adjacent  lati- 
tudes, by  a  friendly  negotiation;  but  as  it  is  evident,  upon  the  clearest 
principles  of  justice  and  reason,  that  an  equal  negotiation  cannot  be 
opened  till  matters  are  put  in  their  original  state,  and  as  certain  acts  have 
been  committed  in  the  latitudes  in  question  by  vessels  belonging  to  the 


D.J 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


4ar 


royal  marine  of  Spain,  against  several  British  vessels,  without  apy  re- 
prisals having  been  made,  of  nny  sort,  on  the  part  of  Britain,  that  power  is 
perfectly  in  the  right  to  insist,  as  a  preliminary  condition,  upon  a  prompt 
and  suitable  reparation  for  these  acts  of  violence;  and  in  consequence  of 
this  principle,  the  practice  of  notions  has  limited  such  right  of  reparation 
to  three  articles,  viz.,  the  re>^titution  of  the  vessels  —  a  full  indemnification 
for  the  losscH  sustained  by  the  parties  injured  —  and,  (iniilly,  satisfaction  to 
the  sovereign  for  the  insult  otTcred  to  his  flag.  So  that  it  is  evident  that 
the  actual  demands  of  my  court,  fur  fruin  containing  any  thing  to  preju- 
dice the  rights  or  the  dignity  of  his  Catholic  majesty,  amount  to  no  more, 
in  fact,  than  what  k  constantly  done  by  Great  Britain  licrself,  ns  well  as 
every  other  maritime  power,  in  similar  circumstances.  Finally,  as  to  the 
nature  of  the  satisfaction  which  the  court  of  London  exacts  on  this  occa- 
sion,  and  on  which  your  excellency  appears  to  desire  some  explanation,  1 
am  authorized,  sir,  to  assure  you,  that  if  his  Catholic  majesty  consents  to 
make  a  declaration  in  his  name,  bearing  in  substance  that  he  had  deter- 
mined to  ulfer  to  his  Britannic  majesty  a  just  and  suitable  satisfaction 
for  the  insult  offered  to  his  flag,  —  such  offer,  joined  to  a  promise  of 
making  restitution  of  the  vessels  captured,  and  to  indemnify  the  pro- 
prietors, under  the  conditions  specified  in  the  official  letter  of  Mr.  Merry 
on  the  16th  of  May,  will  be  regarded  by  his  Britannic  majesty  as  consti- 
tuting in  itself  the  satisfaction  demanded ;  and  his  said  majesty  will  accept 
of  it  as  such  by  a  counter-declaration  on  his  part.  I  have  to  add,  that  as 
it  appears  uncertain  if  the  vessels  the  North- West,  an  American  vessel, 
and  the  Iphigenia,  had  truly  a  right  to  enjoy  the  protection  of  the  British 
flag,  the  king  will  with  pleasure  consent  that  an  examination  of  this  ques- 
tion, as  well  as  that  relative  to  the  just  amount  of  the  losses  sustained 
by  his  subjects,  may  be  Icfl  to  the  determination  of  commissioners  to 
be  named  by  the  two  courts. 

Having  thus  recapitulated  to  your  excellency  the  heads  of  what  I 
observed  to  you  in  conversation,  I  flatter  myself  you  will  weigh  the  whole 
in  your  mind,  with  that  spirit  of  equity  and  moderation  which  character- 
izes you,  that  I  may  be  in  a  condition  of  sending  to  my  court,  as  soon  as 
possible,  a  satisfactory  answer  as  to  the  point  contained  in  the  official 
paper  sent  to  Mr.  Merry,  on  the  4th  of  the  month,  and  which,  for  the 
reasons  I  have  mentioned,  cannot  be  regarded  by  his  Britannic  majesty 
as  fulfilling  his  just  expectations. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &>c., 

Allevne  Fitzherbert. 


the 
the 


of 
the 
lati- 
irest 
t  be 
have 

the 


(6.)  ■    ; 

Letter  from  Count  de  Florida  Blanco  to  Mr.  Fitzherbert. 

Madrid,  June  IStk,  1790. 

You  will  pardon  me,  sir,  that  I  cannot  give  my  assent  to  the  principles 
laid  down  in  your  last  letter;  as  Spain  maintains,  on  the  most  solid 
grounds,  that  the  detention  of  the  vessels  was  made  in  a  port,  upon  a 
coast,  or  in  a  bay,  of  Spanish  America,  the  commerce  and  navigation  of 
which  belonged  exclusively  to  Spain,  by  treaties  with  all  nations,  even 
England  herself 


428 


rROora  and  illcstratioiis. 


to- 


The  principles  laid  down  cannot  be  adapted  to  the  caa*-.  The 
tadmIb  detained  attempted  to  make  an  eRtablishment  at  a  port  where 
they  found  a  nation  actuullv  aettled,  the  Spanish  commander  at  Nootka 
having,  previous  to  their  detention,  made  the  most  amicable  represen- 
tations to  the  aggressors  to  desist  from  their  purpose. 

Your  excellency  will  also  permit  me  to  lay  before  you,  that  it  is  not 
at  all  certoin  that  the  vessels  detained  navigated  under  the  British  flag, 
although  they  were  English  vessels;  there  having  been  reason  to  believe 
that  they  navigated  under  the  protection  of  Portuguese  passports,  fur 
nished  them  by  the  governor  of  Macao  as  commercial  vessels,  and  not 
belonging  to  the  roynl  marine.  Your  excellency  will  add  to  these  rea- 
sons, that,  by  the  restitution  of  these  vessels,  their  furniture  and  cargoes, 
or  their  value,  in  consequence  of  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  viceroy  of 
Mexico,  which  has  been  approved  of  by  the  king,  for  the  sake  of  peace, 
every  thing  is  placed  in  its  original  state,  the  object  your  excellency  aims 
at  —  nothing  remaining  unsettled  but  the  indemnification  of  losses,  and 
satisfaction  for  the  insult,  which  shall  also  be  regulated  when  evidence 
shall  be  given  what  insult  has  been  committed,  which  hitherto  has  not 
been  sufficiently  explained. 

However,  that  a  quarrel  may  not  arise  about  words,  and  that  two 
nations  friendly  to  each  other  may  not  be  exposed  to  the  calamities  of 
war,  I  have  to  inform  you,  sir,  by  order  of  the  king,  that  his  majesty 
consents  to  make  the  declaration  which  your  excellency  proposes  in  your 
letter,  and  will  offer  to  his  Britannic  majesty  a  just  and  suitable  satisfac- 
tion for  the  insult  offered  to  the  honor  of  his  flag,  provided  that  to  these 
are  added  either  of  the  following  explanations: 

1.  That,  in  offering  such  satisfaction,  the  insult  and  the  satisfaction 
shall  be  fully  settled,  ooth  in  form  and  substance,  by  a  judgment  to  be 

f>ronounced  by  one  of  the  kings  of  Europe,  whom  the  king,  my  master, 
eaves  wholly  to  the  choice  of  his  Britannic  majesty;  for  it  is  sufficient  to 
the  Spanish  monarch  that  a  crowned  head,  from  full  information  of  the 
facts,  shall  decide  as  he  thinks  just. 

2.  That,  in  offering  a  just  and  suitable  satisfaction,  care  shall  be 
taken  that,  in  the  progress  of  the  negotiation  to  be  opened,  no  facts  be 
admitted  as  true  but  such  as  can  be  fully  established  by  Great  Britain 
with  regard  to  the  insult  offered  to  her  flag. 

3.  That  the  said  satisfaction  shall  be  given  on  condition  that  no 
inference  be  drawn  therefrom  to  affect  the  rights  of  Spain,  nor  of  the 
right  of  exacting  from  Great  Britain  an  equivalent  satisfaction,  if  it  shall 
be  found,  in  the  course  of  negotiation,  that  the  king  has  a  right  to 
demand  satisfaction,  for  the  aggression  and  usurpation  made  on  the 
Spanish  territory,  contrary  to  subsisting  treaties. 

Your  excellency  will  be  pleased  to  make  choice  of  either  of  these 
three  explanations  to  the  declaration  your  excellency  proposes,  or  all  the 
three  together,  and  to  point  out  any  difficulty  that  occurs  to  you,  that 
it  may  be  obviated ;  or  any  other  mode  that  may  tend  to  promote  the 
peace  which  we  desire  to  establish. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &C.,    -  '  *• 

El  Conde  de  Florida  Blanca. 


ID. 


VBOOrt   AMD   ILLUtTlUTlOlfl. 


489 


(7.) 


Spanish  Dtelaration,  and  British    Counter-Declaration,  exchanged  at 
Madrid  on  the  'Mth  of  July,  1790. 

DECLARATION. 

His  Britannic  majesty  having  complained  of  the  capture  of  certain 
vesBAls  belonging  to  his  subjects  in  the  port  of  Nootka,  situated  on  the 
north-west  const  of  America,  by  an  otRcer  in  the  service  of  the  king,  —  the 
undersigned  counsellor  and  principal  secretary  of  state  to  his  majesty, 
being  thereto  duly  authorized,  declares,  in  the  name  and  by  the  order  of 
his  said  majesty,  that  he  is  willing  to  give  satisfnction  to  hid  Britannic 
majesty  for  the  injury  of  which  he  has  complained,  fully  persuaded  that 
his  said  Britannic  majesty  would  act  in  the  same  manner  towards  the 
king,  under  similar  circumstances ;  and  his  majesty  further  en<|iiges  to 
make  full  restitution  of  all  the  British  vessels  which  were  captured  at 
Nootka,  and  to  indemnify  the  parties  interested  in  those  vessels,  for  the 
losses  which  they  shall  have  sustained,  as  soon  as  the  amount  thereof 
shall  have  been  ascertained. 

It  being  understood  that  this  declaration  is  not  to  preclude  or  preju- 
dice the  ulterior  discussion  of  any  right  which  his  majesty  may  claim  to 
form  an  exclusive  establishment  at  the  port  of  Nootka. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  signed  this  declaration,  and  sealed  it  with 
the  seal  of  my  arms.     At  Madrid,  the  24th  of  July,  1700. 

(l.  b.)  Signed, 

Lb  Comte  de  Florida  Blanca. 


CODNTER-DECLARATION. 


His  Catholic  majesty  having  declared  that  he  was  willing  to  give 
satisfaction  for  the  injury  done  to  the  king,  by  the  capture  of  certain 
vessels  belonging  to  his  subjects,  in  the  bay  of  Nootka,  and  the  Count  de 
Florida  Blanca  having  signed,  in  the  name  and  by  the  order  of  his  Catho- 
lic majesty,  a  declaration  to  this  effect,  and  by  which  his  said  majesty 
likewise  engages  to  make  full  restitution  of  the  vessels  so  captured,  and 
to  indemnify  the  parties  interested  in  those  vessels  for  the  losses  they  shall 
have  sustained, — the  undersigned  ambassador  extraordinary  and  plenipo- 
tentiary of  his  majesty  to  the  Catholic  king,  being  thereto  duly  and 
expressly  author'  od,  accepts  the  said  declaration  in  the  name  of  the  king, 
and  declares  th  a  his  majesty  will  consider  this  declaration,  together  with 
the  performance  of  the  engagements  contained  therein,  as  a  full  and  entire 
satisfaction  for  the  injury  of  which  his  majesty  has  complained. 

The  undersigned  declares,  at  the  same  time,  that  it  is  to  be  undsr- 
stood,  that  neither  the  said  declaration  signed  by  Count  Florida  Blanca, 
nor  the  acceptance  thereof  by  the  undersigned,  in  the  name  of  the  king, 
is  to  preclude  or  prejudice,  in  any  respect,  the  right  which  his  majesty 
may  claim  to  any  establishment  which  his  subjects  may  have  formed,  or 
should  be  desirous  of  forming  in  future,  at  the  said  bay  of  Nootka. 

In  witness  whereof,  I  have  signed  this  counter-declaration,  and  sealed 
it  with  the  seal  of  my  arms.     At  Madrid,  the  24th  of  July,  1790. 

(l.  8.)  Signed, 

Allktne  Fitzherbert. 


430 


room's    AND    ILLVBTRATIOMS. 


[fi. 


(8.) 

Decru  qf  the  Naiumal  Convention  of  France,  on  the  Subject  of  the 
Application  of  the  King  of  Spain  for  Aid  in  resisting  the  Demands 
of  Great  Britain.     Paris,  August  6th,  1790. 

The  National  Assembly,  deliberating  on  the  formal  proposition  of  the 
king,  contained  in  the  letter  of  the  minister,  dated  the  Ist  of  August, 

Decree,  that  the  king  be  supplicated  to  make  known  to  his  Catholic 
majesty,  that  the  French  nation,  in  taking  all  proper  measures  to  maintain 
peace,  will  observe  the  defensive  and  commercial  engagements  which  the 
French  government  have  previously  contracted  with  Spain. 

They  further  decree  that  his  majesty  shall  be  requested  immediately 
to  charge  his  ambassador  in  Spain  to  negotiate  with  the  minister  of  his 
Catholic  majesty  to  the  effect  of  perpetuating  and  renewing,  by  a  national 
treaty,  the  ties  so  useful  to  the  two  nations,  and  to  ^x  with  precision  and 
clearness  every  stipulation  which  shall  be  strictly  conformable  to  the 
views  of  general  peace,  and  to  the  principles  of  justice,  which  will  be 
forever  the  policy  of  the  French. 

The  National  Assembly  further  taking  into  consideration  the  arma- 
ments of  the  different  nations  of  Europe,  their  progressive  increase, 
and  the  safety  of  the  French  colonies  and  commerce,  decree,  that  the 
king  shall  be  prayed  to  give  orders  that  the  French  marine  force  in 
commission  shall  be  increased  to  forty-five  ships  of  the  line,  with  a 
proportionate  number  of  frigates  and  other  vessels. 


E. 


Documents    relative    to   the    Discovert   of    the    Columbia 
River   by    the    Spaniards    and   the    Americans. 

Extract  from  the  Report  of  Captain  Bruno  Heceta,  commanding  the 
Spanish  Corvette  Santiago,  in  a  Voyage  along  the  North-West  Coast 
of  America,  in  1775,  containing  the  Particulars  of  his  Discovery  of 
the  Mouth  of  the  Great  River,  since  called  the  Columbia* 

original. 

El  dia  diez  y  siete,  [de  agoslo,  1775,]  recorri  la  costa,  hasta  el  grado 
cuarenti  y  seis ;  y  vi  que  dcsde  la  latitud  de  cuarenta  y  siete  grados  y 

•  From  the  original  Report,  preserved  in  the  Hydrographical  Office  at  Madrid, 
copied  under  the  supervision  of^  Don  Martin  Fernandes  de  Navarats,  the  chief  of 
that  department,  whose  cer  iicate  in  proof  of  its  authenticity  is  appended  to  the 
copy.  —  See  p.  120  of  this  History. 


[R 


fi.J 


rROOFS    kSD    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


431 


ouarenta  minutos,  hasta  la  de  cuarenta  y  sets  gradoa  cuarenta  minutoa, 
corria  al  angulo  de  diez  y  ocho,  en  el  segundo  cuadrante ;  y  desde  esta 
graduacion,  hasta  la  de  cuarenta  y  seis,  y  cuatro,  al  angulo  de  doce  del 
mismo  cuadrante,  y  con  la  inisma  sonda,  playa  y  frondosidad,  y  algunos 
islotes,  que  la  de  los  dias  anteriores. 

La  tarde  de  este  dia,  descubri  una  grande  bahia,  que  la  nombre  de 
la  Asuncion ;  cuya  iigura  representa  el  piano  que  va  inserto  en  este  diario ; 
su  latitud  y  amplitud  esta  sujeta  a  las  demarcaciones  mas  exactas  que 
ofrece  la  theorica  y  practica  de  esta  carrera. 

Las  latitudes  de  los  cabos  mas  salientes  de  dicha  bahia,  particularmente 
la  del  Norte,  esta  calculada  por  la  observacion  de  aquel  dia. 

Habiendola  llegado  a  flanquear  a  las  seis  de  la  tarde,  y  cuasi  situada  la 
fragata  entre  los  dos  Cabos,  sonde  en  veinte  y  cuatro  brazas,  y  eran  tan 
rapidos  los  remolinos  de  las  corrientes,  que  no  obstante  haber  esforzado 
de  vela,  fue  trabajoso  el  salir  6  seperarse  del  Cabo  de  mas  al  Norte,  que 
es  hacia  la  parte  donde  mas  se  inclinaba  la  corriente,  que  tambien  tenia 
su  direccion  al  este,  y  con  el  dependia  del  flujo  de  la  marea. 

Estas  corrientes  y  hervidero  de  aguas  me  han  hecho  creer  sea  desem- 
bocadura  de  algun  gran  rio  6  paso  para  algun  otro  mar. 

Si  la  latitud  en  que  se  situo  la  bahia  no  tubiera  la  constante  prueba  de 
la  observacion  de  aquel  dia  creeria  sin  dificultad  era  este  el  paso  descubierto 
el  ano  de  1592  por  Juan  de  Fuca,  que  lo  situan  las  cartas  entre  los  grados 
de  cuarenta  y  ocho  grados  y  cuarenta  y  siete  de  latitud,  donde  no  me 
queda  duda,  no  se  halla  este  estrecho,  por  haber  estado  fondeado  el  dia 
catorce  de  Julio,  en  el  centro  de  estas  latitudes,  y  registrado  varias  veces 
todas  aquellas  inmediaciones. 

No  obstante  la  mucha  diferencia  de  la  situacion  de  esta  bahia,  y  el 
paso  que  cita  de  Fuca,  se  mi  hace  poco  dificultoso  el  dudar,  si  es  uno 
mismo ;  porque  he  observado,  hay  igual  variedad  6  mayor,  en  las  latitudes 
de  otros  cabos  y  puertos  de  esta  costa,  como  los  citare  a  su  tiempo ;  y  en 
todos,  es  mayor  la  latitud  en  que  los  fijan,  que  la  que  tiene  sus  verdaderas 
situaciones. 

El  no  haber  entrado  y  fondeado  en  el  puerto,  que  parece  forma  la  que 
en  el  piano  supongo  isia,  no  obstante  los  vivos  deseos  que  me  asisten,  fue 
porque,  habiendo  tornado  parecer  del  segundo  Capitan  y  practico  Don 
Juan  Perez,  y  piloto  Don  Christoval  Revilla,  insistieron  en  que  no  debia 
executar,  porque,  de  dejar  caer  el  ancla,  no  teniamos  gente  con  que 
zarparla,  y  atender  a  la  faena,  que  de  esto  re'-ulta.  Hecho  cargo  yo,  de 
estas  razones,  y  que  para  hacer  rumbo  a!  fondeadero,  me  era  precise 
hechar  la  lancha  al  agua  (unica  embarcacion  menor  que  tenia)  esquifarla 
con  catorce  individuqs  de  la  tripulacion,  lo  menos,  y  que  sin  estos  no 
podia  empenarme,  notando  al  mismo  tiempo,  era  tarde,  resolvi  virar  para 
fuera;  y  hnllandome  a  la  distancia  de  tres  6  cuatro  leguas,  hice  capa. 
Experimente  esta  noche  vivas  corrientes  al  S.  O.  que  me  imposibilitaron 
intentar  recalar  en  esta  bahia,  la  manana  del  dia  siguiente,  por  estar 
muy  sotavento. 

Tambien  estas  me  hicieron  consentir,  en  que  en  el  reflujo,  salia  de 
aquella  bahia,  mucha  cantidad  de  aguas. 

Los  dos  Cabos  que  cito  en  el  piano,  de  <Sian  Roque  y  del  Frondoso 
cof "-en  al  angulo  de  diez  grados  del  tercer  cuadrante ;  ambos  son  escar- 


padvXH  de  tierra  colorada  con  poca  elevacion. 
El  dia  dies  y  ocho,  demarque  el  Caho  Frondoso 


que  cito,  con  otro  que 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


le  puse  per  nombre  de  Falcon,  situado  en  la  latitud  de  cuarenta  y  cinco 
grados  cuarenta  y  tres  minutos ;  y  corria  al  angulo  de  veinte  y  dos  grades 
del  tercer  cuadrante ;  y  desde  este  cabo  sigue  la  costa,  al  angulo  de  cinco 
grados,  del  segundo  cuadrante. 

Esta  es  de  tierra  montuosa,  no  muy  elevada,  ni  tan  poblada  de  arboleda, 
como  la  que  induce  los  grados  desde  la  latitud  de  cuarenta  y  ocho,  treinta, 
hasta  los  cuarenta  y  seis. 

En  la  sonda,  encontre  notable  diferencia;  pues  a  distancia  de  siete 
leguas,  sonde  en  ochenta  y  cuatro  brazas,  y  acercandome  a  la  costa,  no 
halle  algunas  veces  sonda ;  lo  que  me  ha  hecho  creer,  hay  algunos  placeres 
6  bancos  de  arena,  sobre  estas  costas,  pues  tambien  el  color  de  las  aguas 
lo  denota  asi.  En  algunas  partes,  acaba  la  costa  en  playa,  y  en  otros 
acantilada. 

Una  montana  plana,  que  la  llame  de  Mesa,  hara  que  qualquier  navegante 
se  haga  capaz  de  la  situacion  del  Cabo  Falcon,  aunque  no  haya  tenido 
observacion ;  por  que  esta  en  la  latitud  de  cuarenta  y  cinco  veinte  y  ocho 
minutos,  v  se  deja  ver  de  lejos  por  ser  medianamente  alta. 


TRANSLATION. 

On  the  17th  [ot  August,  1775]  I  sailed  along  the  coast  to  the  46th 
degree,  and  observed  that,  from  the  latitude  of  47  degrees  4  minutes 
to  that  of  46  degrees  40  minutes,  it  runs  in  the  angle  of  18  degrees  of  the 
second  quadrant,*  and  from  that  latitude  to  46  degrees  4  minutes,  in  the 
angle  of  12  degrees  of  the  same  quadrant ;  the  soundings,  the  shore,  the 
wooded  character  of  the  country,  and  the  little  islands,  being  the  same  as 
on  the  preceding  days. 

In  the  evening  of  this  day,  I  discovered  a  large  bay,  to  which  I  gave 
the  name  of  Assumption  Bay,  and  of  which  a  plan  will  be  found  in  this 
journal.  Its  latitude  and  longitude  are  determined  according  to  the  most 
exact  means  afforded  by  theory  and  practice. 

The  latitudes  of  the  two  most  prominent  capes  of  this  bay,  especially 
of  the  northern  one,  are  calculated  from  the  observations  of  this  day.t 

Having  arrived  opposite  this  bay  at  six  in  the  evening,  and  placed  the 
ship  nearly  midway  between  the  two  capes,  I  sounded,  and  found  bottom 
in  twenty-four  brazas ;%  the  currents  and  eddies  were  so  strong  that, 
notwithstanding  a  press  of  sail,  it  was  difficult  to  get  out  clear  of  the  north- 
ern cape,  towards  which  the  current  ran,  though  its  direction  was  east- 
ward, in  consequence  of  the  tide  being  at  flood. 

These  currents  and  eddies  of  the  water  caused  me  to  believe  that  the 
place  is  the  mouth  of  some  great  river,  or  of  some  passage  to  another  sea. 


*  The  card  of  the  Spanish  compass  was  formerly  divided  into  four  quadrants,  on 
which  the  points  were  counted  b}'  degrees. 

t  In  the  table  accompanying  the  report,  the  position  of  the  vessel  is  given  on  the 
17th  of  August,  as  in  latitude  of  46  degrees  17  minutes,  which  is  within  one  minute  of 
the  latitude  of  Cape  Disappointm(>nt,  (the  Cnnc  San  Roque  of  Heccta,)  the  nortliern 
point,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Columbia  ;  the  longitude  is  made  1.5  degrees  38  minutes 
west  of  Cape  San  Lucas,  'he  southern  extremity  of  California,  which  is  about  a 
degree  and  a  half  ti:o  far  west,  yet  remarkably  near  the  truth,  considering  tliat 
the  Spanish  navigator  was  obliged  to  depend  entirely  on  the  dead  reckoning  for 
his  longitudes. 

X  The  Spanish  hraza,  or  fathom,  contains  six  Spanish  feet,  nearly  equal  to  five  feet 
nine  inches  English 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Had  I  not  been  certain  of  the  latitude  of  this  bay,  from  my  observations 
of  the  same  day,  I  might  easily  have  believed  it  to  be  the  passage  dis- 
covered by  Juan  de  Fuca,  in  1592,  which  is  placed  on  the  charts  between 
the  47th  and  the  4dth  degrees ;  where  I  am  certain  that  no  such  strait 
exists;  because  I  anchored  on  the  14th  of  July  midway  between  these 
two  latitudes,  and  carefully  examined  every  thing  around. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  difference  between  the  position  of  this  bay 
and  the  passage  mentioned  by  De  Fuca,  I  have  little  difficulty  in  con- 
ceiving that  they  may  be  the  same,  having  observed  equal  or  greater 
differences  in  the  latitudes  of  other  capes  and  ports  on  this  coast,  as  I 
shall  show  at  its  proper  time ;  and  in  all  cases  the  latitudes  thus  assigned 
are  higher  than  the  real  ones. 

I  did  not  enter  and  anchor  in  this  port,  which  in  my  plan  I  suppose 
to  be  formed  by  an  island,  notwithstanding  my  strong  desire  to  do  so ; 
because,  having  consulted  the  second  ctiptain,  Don  Juun  Perez,  and  the 
pilot,  Don  Christoval  Revilla,  they  insisted  that  I  ought  not  to  attempt  it, 
as,  if  we  let  go  the  anchor,  we  should  not  have  men  enough  to  get  it  up, 
and  to  attend  to  the  other  operations  which  would  bo  thereby  rendered 
necessary.  Considering  this,  and  also  that,  in  order  to  reach  the  anchor- 
age, I  should  be  obliged  to  lower  my  long-boat,  (the  only  boat  that  I  had.) 
and  to  man  it  with  at  least  fourteen  of  the  crew,  as  I  could  not  manage  w.th 
fewer,  and  also  that  it  was  then  late  in  the  day,  I  resolved  to  put  out;  and 
at  the  distance  of  three  or  four  leagues  I  lay  to.  In  the  course  of  that 
night,  I  experienced  heavy  currents  to  the  south-west,  which  made  it 
impossible  for  me  to  enter  the  bay  on  the  following  morning,  as  I  was 
far  to  leeward. 

These  currents,  however,  convinced  me  that  a  great  quantity  of  water 
rushed  from  this  bay  on  the  ebb  of  the  tide. 

The  two  capes  which  I  name  in  my  plan  Cape  San  Roque  *  and  Cape 
Frondoso,\  lie  in  the  angle  of  ten  degrees  of  the  third  quadrant.  They 
are  both  faced  with  red  earth,  and  are  of  little  elevation. 

On  the  18th,  I  observed  Cape  Frondoso,  with  aaniaer  cape,  to  which 
I  gave  the  name  of  Cape  Falcon, 1^  situated  in  the  •"'.ivido  of  45  degrees 
43  minutes,  and  they  lay  at  the  angle  of  22  dp^^rces  or  fii  ?  third  quadrant, 
and  from  ihe  last-mentioned  cape  I  traced  the  coast  i  i.u<iiing  in  the  angle 
of  five  degrees  of  the  second  quadrant. 

This  land  is  mountainous,  but  not  very  high,  !<<-;  so  well  wooded  as 
that  lying  between  the  latitudes  of  48  degrees  !^0  minutes,  and  U;  degrees. 

On  sounding,  I  found  great  differences:  r  U.e  distniicc  of  7  leagues, 
I  got  bottom  at  84  brazas ;  and  nearer  the  const,  1  sometimes  found  no 
bottom;  from  w^ich  I  am  inclined  to  believe  th;U  there  arc  reeft  or 
shoals  on  these  coasts,  which  is  also  shown  by  the  color  of  the  water.  In 
some  places,  the  coast  presents  a  beach,  in  others  it  is  rocky. 

A  flat-topped  mountain,  which  I  named  The  Tnhlf,^  will  en.ible  any  nav- 
igator to  know  the  position  of  Cape  Fakou  without  observing  it ;  as  it  is 
in  the  latitude  of  45  degrees  28  minutes,  and  may  be  seen  at  j  .zreat  dis- 
tance, being  somewhat  elevated. 


:;  I  i 


1- 


*  Cape  Disappointment, 
t  Cape  Adams. 


55 


i  t^Iapo  Lookout. 

§  Charke'a  Point  of  View. 


434 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[E. 


.^      .••-::     ^  ,-^  (2.)-,. 

■  ■  ■  f^  - '  ■ . "       ' '.'       ■'  '      .  ,     .  , 

Extract  from  the  Second  Volume  of  the  Log-Book  of  the  Ship  Columbiot 
of  Boston,  commanded  by  Robert  Gray,  containing  the  Account  of 
her  Entrance  into  the  Columbia  River,  in  May,  1792.* 

May  7th,  1792,  A.  M.  — Being  within  six  miles  of  the  land,  saw  an 
entrance  in  the  same,  which  had  a  very  good  appearance  of  a  harbor; 
lowered  away  the  jolly-boat,  and  went  in  search  of  an  anchoring-place, 
the  ship  standing  to  and  fro,  with  a  very  strong  weather  current.  At  one, 
P.  M.,  the  boat  returned,  having  found  no  place  where  the  ship  could 
anchor  with  safety ;  made  sail  on  the  ship ;  stood  in  for  the  shore.  We 
soon  saw,  from  our  mast-head,  a  passage  in  between  the  sand-bars.  At 
half  past  three,  bore  away,  and  ran  in  north-east  by  east,  having  from  four 
to  eight  fathoms,  sandy  bottom;  and,  as  we  drew  in  nearer  between  the 
bars,  had  from  ten  to  thirteen  fathoms,  having  a  very  strong  tide  of  ebb  to 
stem.  Many  canoes  came  alongside.  At  five,  P.  M.,  came  to  in  five 
fathoms  water,  sandy  bottom,  in  a  safe  harbor,  well  sheltered  from  the 
sea  by  long  sand-bars  and  spits.  Our  latitude  observed  this  day  was 
46  degrees  58  minutes  north. 

May  10th.  —  Fresh  breezes  and  pleasant  weather;  many  natives  along- 
side; at  noon,  all  the  canoes  left  us.  At  one,  P.  M.,  began  to  unmoor, 
took  up  the  best  bower-anchor,  and  hove  short  on  the  small  bower-anchor. 
At  half  past  four,  (being  high  water,)  hove  up  the  anchor,  and  came  to 
sail  and  a  beating  down  the  harbor. 

May  llth.  —  At  half  past  seven,  we  were  out  clear  of  the  bars,  and 
directed  our  course  to  the  southward,  along  shore.  At  eight,  P.  M.,  the 
entrance  of  Bulfinch's  Harbor  bore  north,  distance  four  miles;  the  south- 
ern extremity  of  the  land  bore  south-south-east  half  east,  and  the  northern 
north-north-west;  sent  up  the  tiain-top-gallant-yard  and  set  all  aail.  At 
four,  A.  M.,  saw  the  entrance  of  our  desired  port  bearing  east-south-east, 
distance  six  leagues;  in  steering  sails,  and  hauled  our  wind  in  shore.  At 
eight,  A.  M.,  being  a  little  to  windward  of  the  entrance  of  the  Harbor, 
bore  away,  and  run  in  east-north-east  between  the  breakers,  having  from 
five  to  seven  fathoms  of  water.  When  we  were  over  the  bar,  we  found 
this  to  be  a  large  river  of  fresh  water,  up  which  we  steersd.  Many  canoes 
came  alongside.  At  one,  P.  M.,  came  to  with  the  small  bower,  in  ten 
fathoms,  black  and  white  sand.  The  entrance  between  the  b.irs  bore 
west-south-west,  distant  ten  miles;  the  north  side  of  the  river  a  half  mile 
distant  from  the  ship ;  the  south  side  of  the  same  two  and  a  half  miles' 
distance ;  a  village  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  west  by  north,  distant 
three  quarters  of  a  mile.  Viist  numbers  of  natives  came  alongside ; 
people  employed  in  pumping  the  salt  water  out  of  our  water-casks,  in 
order  to  fill  with  fresh,  while  the  ship  floated  in.     So  ends. 

May  \2th.  —  Many  natives  alongside ;    noon,  fresh  wind ;   let  go  the 

*  This  extract  was  mpde  in  1816,  by  Mr.  Rulfinch,  of  Boston,  one  of  the  owners  of 
the  Columbia,  from  the  second  volume  of  the  log-book,  which  ■was  then  in  the  pos- 
Bession  of  Captain  Gray's  heirs,  but  has  since  disappeared.  It  has  been  frequently 
published  in  newspapers  and  reports  to  Congress,  accompanied  by  the  atiidavit  of  Mr. 
Buifinch  to  its  exactness.  —  See  p.  2;}6  of  the  History. 


li 


[E. 


E.1 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


435 


canoes 

in  ten 

irs  bore 

lalf  mile 

f  miles' 

distant 

iigside ; 

isks,  in 

20  the 


best  bower-anchor,  and  veered  out  on  both  cables ;  sent  down  the  main- 
top-gallant-yard;  filled  up  all  the  water-casks  in  the  hold.  The  latter 
part,  heavy  gales,  and  rainy,  dirty  weather. 

May  13</i.  —  Fresh  winds  and  rainy  weather;  many  natives  along- 
side; hove  up  the  best  bower-anchor;  seamen  and  tradesmen  at  their 
various  departments. 

May  Wth.  —  Fresh  gales  and  cloudy;  many  natives  alongside;  al 
noon,  weighed  and  came  to  sail,  standing  up  the  river  north-east  by  east ; 
we  found  the  channel  very  narrow.  At  four,  P.  M.,  we  had  sailed  up- 
wards of  twelve  or  fifteen  miles,  when  the  channel  was  so  very  narrow 
that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  keep  in  it,  having  from  three  to  eighteen 
fathoms  water,  sandy  bottom.  At  half  past  four,  the  ship  took  ground, 
but  she  did  not  stay  long  before  she  came  off,  without  any  assistance. 
We  backed  her  off,  stern  foremost,  into  three  fathoms,  and  let  go  the 
small  bower,  and  moored  ship  with  kedge  and  hawser.  The  jolly-boat 
was  sent  to  sound  the  channel  out,  but  found  it  not  navigable  any  farther 
up ;  so,  of  course,  we  must  have  taken  the  wrong  channel.  So  ends, 
with  rainy  weather;  many  natives  alongside. 

May  15th.  —  Light  airs  and  pleasant  weather;  many  natives  from 
different  tribes  came  alongside.  At  ten,  A.  M.,  unmoored  and  dropped 
down  with  the  tide  to  a  better  anchoring-place ;  smiths  and  other  trades- 
men constantly  employed.  In  the  afternoon.  Captain  Gray  and  Mr.  Hos- 
kins,  in  the  jolly-boat,  went  on  shore  to  take  a  short  view  of  the  country. 

May  I6th.  —  Light  airs  and  cloudy.  At  four,  A.  M.,  hove  up  the 
anchor  and  towed  down  about  three  miles,  with  the  last  of  the  ebb-tide ; 
came  into  six  fathoms,  sandy  bottom,  the  jolly-boat  sounding  the  channel. 
At  ten,  A.  M.,  a  fresh  breeze  came  up  river.  With  the  first  of  the  ebb- 
tide we  got  under  way,  and  beat  down  river.  At  one,  (from  its  being 
very  squally,)  we  came  to,  about  two  miles  from  the  village,  (Chinouk,) 
which  bore  west-south-west ;  many  natives  alongside ;  fresh  gales  and 
squally. 

May  17th.  —  Fresh  winds  and  squally;  many  canoes  alongside;  calk- 
ers  calking  the  pinnace ;  seamen  paying  the  ship's  sides  v/ith  tar ;  painter 
painting  ship;  smiths  and  carpenters  at  their  departments. 

May  ISth.  —  Pleasant  weather.  At  four  in  the  morning,  began  to 
heave  ah(  rl ;  at  h<alf  past,  came  to  sail,  -tanding  dov/n  river  with  the  ebb- 
tide ;  ai  oeven,  (being  slack  water  and  the  wind  fluttering,)  we  came  to  in 
five  fathoms,  sandy  bottom  ;  the  entrance  between  the  bars  bore  south- 
west by  west,  distant  three  miles.  The  north  point  of  the  harbor  bore 
north-west,  distant  two  miles;  the  south  bore  south-east,  distant  three  and 
a  half  miles.  At  nine,  a  breeze  sprung  up  from  the  eastward :  took  up 
the  anchor  and  came  to  sail,  bui  the  wind  soon  came  fluttering  again ; 
came  to  with  the  kedge  and  hawser ;  veered  out  fifty  fathoms.  Noon, 
pleasant.  Latitude  observed,  46  degrees  17  minutes  north.  At  one, 
came  to  sail  with  the  first  of  the  ebb-tide,  and  drifted  down  broadside, 
with  light  airs  and  strong  fide ;  at  three  quarters  past,  a  fresh  wind  came 
from  the  northward;  wore  ship,  and  stood  into  the  river  again.  At  four, 
came  to  in  six  fathoms;  good  holding-ground  about  six  or  seven  miles 
up;  many  canoes  alongside. 

May  19lh.  —  Fresh  wind  and  clear  weather.  Early  a  number  of 
canoes  came  alongside;  seamen  and  tradesmen  employed  in  their  various 
departments.     Captain  Gray  gave   this  river  the   name  of  Columbia's 


-m 


436 


PROOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[P. 


River,  and  the  north  side  of  the  entrance  Cape  Hancock}  the  south, 
Adams's  Point. 

May  20M.  —  Gentle  brcezos  and  pleasant  weather.  At  one,  P.  M., 
(being  full  sea,)  took  up  the  anchor,  and  made  sail,  standing  down  rirer. 
At  two,  the  wind  left  us,  we  being  on  the  bar  with  a  very  strong  tide, 
which  set  on  the  breakers;  it  wan  now  not  possible  to  get  out  without  a 
breeze  to  shoot  her  across  the  tide ;  so  wc  were  obliged  to  bring  up  in 
three  and  a  half  fathoms,  the  tide  running  five  knots.  At  three  quarters 
past  two,  a  fresh  wind  came  in  from  seaward ;  we  immediately  came  to 
sail,  and  beat  over  the  bar,  having  from  five  to  seven  fathoms  water  in  the 
channel.  At  five,  P.  M.,  we  were  out,  clear  of  all  the  bars,  and  in  twenty 
fathoms  water.  A  breeze  came  from  the  southward;  we  bore  away  to 
the  northward ;  set  all  sail  to  the  best  advantage.  At  eight.  Cape  Han- 
cock bore  south-east,  distant  three  leagues ;  the  north  extremity  of  the  land 
in  sight  bore  north  by  west.  At  nine,  in  steering  and  top-gallant  sails. 
Midnight,  light  airs. 

May  21s<.  —  At  six,  A.  M.,  the  nearest  land  in  sight  bore  east-youth- 
east,  distant  eight  leagues.  At  seven,  set  top-galiant-sails  and  light  stay- 
sails. At  eleven,  set  steering-sails  fore  and  aft.  Noon,  pleasant;  agree- 
able weather.  The  entrance  of  Bulfinch's  Harbor  bore  south-east  by  east 
half  east,  distant  five  leagues. 


1    i: 


F. 

Showing   that  the    Forty-ninth   Parallel   of  Latitude  was 

NOT     selected     as     THE    LiNE     OP     SEPARATION     BETWEEN    THE 

French  and  the  British  Territories  in  North  America, 
BT  Commissaries  appointed  agreeably  to  the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht.* 

Mr.  Monroe,  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  in  London, 
in  his  letter  of  September  5th,  1804,  to  Lord  Harrowby,  the  British  secre- 
tary for  foreign  affairs.f  makes  the  following  statement  with  regard  to  the 
adoption  of  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude  as  the  northern  boundary  of  Lou- 
isiar,u. :  — 

"  By  the  tenth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  it  is  agreed  that '  France 
shall  restore  to  Great  Britain  f  iie  Bay  and  Straits  of  Hudson,  together  with 
all  the  lands,  seas,  sea-boasts,  rivers,  and  places,  situate  in  the  said  bay 
and  straits,  which  bcl  <ri;;  thereto;  and  i{  is  nlso  agreed,  on  both  sides,  to 
determine,  within  a  you,  by  commissaries  to  be  forthwith  named  by  each 
party,  the  limits  which  are  to  be  fixed  between  the  said  Bay  of  Hudson 
and  the  places  appertaining  to  the  French,  which  limits  both  the  British 
and  French  subjects  shall  he  wholly  forbid  to  pass  over,  or  thereby  to  go 
to  each  other,  by  sea  or  by  land  :  the  .me  commissioners  shall  also  have 
orders  to  describe  and  settle  in  like  manner  the  boundaries  between  the 


•"  See  p.  282  of  the  Hintory. 

*  Communicated  to  ConKrcM,  and  publithed  with  President  JefTerson's  meagage  of 


Much  30th,  1808. 


F.] 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


437 


other  British  and  French  colonies  in  those  parts.'  Commissaries  were 
accordingly  appointed  by  each  power,  who  executed  the  stipulations  of 
the  treaty,  in  establishing  the  boundaries  proposed  by  it.  They  fixed  the 
northern  boundary  of  Canada  and  Louisiana  by  a  line  beginning  on  the 
Atlantic,  at  a  cape  or  promontory  in  58  degrees  30  minutes  north  lati- 
tude, thence  south-westwardly  to  the  Lake  Mistissin,  thence  farther 
south-west  to  the  latitude  of  49  degrees  north  from  the  equator,  and 
along  that  line  indefinitely."  This  statement  was  made  agreeably  to  the 
instructions  of  Mr.  Madison,  the  Secretary  of  Stale,  contained  in  his 
letter  of  February  14th,  1804,  wherein  hfi  refers  to  an  accompanying 
paper,  as  showing  "  the  authority  on  which  the  decision  of  the  commis- 
sioners under  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  rests."  This  paper  was  not  printed 
with  the  other  documents,  and  no  copy  of  it  can  now  be  found,  so  that 
the  authority  for  the  statement  is  not  known  ;  though  it  was  undoubtedly 
derived,  in  part  at  least,  from  the  *'  Summary  of  the  British  settlements 
in  North  America,"  by  Dr.  Douglas,  published  at  Boston  in  1749,  in 
which  (p.  10)  it  will  be  found  nearly  in  the  words  used  by  Mr.  Monroe. 

An  examination  of  the  works  in  which  such  a  settlement  of  boundaries 
is  affirmed,  and  of  those  in  which  it  should  have  been  recorded  if  it  had 
been  made,  will,  however,  serve  to  show  that  ther^i  is  not  the  slightest 
foundation  for  the  supposition. 

The  earliest  asserticn  of  the  adoption  of  such  a  boundary  has  been 
found  in  the  31st  volume  of  the  Modern  Universal  History  by  Salmon, 
(173S,)  in  which  it  is  stated  that  a  line  drawn  from  the  coast  of  Labra- 
dor in  latitude  of  58  degrees  30  minutes  south-west  to  Lake  Mistissin, 
and  "thence  farther  south-west  direct  to  the  latitude  of  49  degrees,"  was 
ascertained  by  commissaries  of  France  and  England  under  the  Utrecht 
treaty  as  the  dividing  line  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  territories  and 
Canada ;  and  this  assertion  is  copied  verbatim,  without  addition  or  re- 
mark, by  Hutchins,  in  his  Topographical  Description  of  Louisiana  (1784,) 
and  in  some  other  works ;  though  Salmon,  in  his  Geographical  and  His- 
torical Grammar,  published  long  after  his  Hitlory,  expressly  declares  that 
those  same  "  limits  are  not  settled  to  this  day." 

Douglas,  the  next  author  who  wrote  on  this  subject,  improved  upon 
Salmon,  by  making  the  line  run  not  only  from  the  coast  south-west  to  the 
49th  parallel,  but  also  indefinitely  westward  in  that  latitude ;  and  Bolton, 
in  his  map  of  America  published  in  1751,  in  the  first  volume  of  Postle- 
thwayt's  Dictionary  of  Commerce,  presents  a  line  nearly  as  described  by 
Douglas,  with  a  note  stating  that  it  had  been  so  "  settled  by  commissaries, 
after  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  making  a  course  from  Davis's  Inlet,  on  the 
Atlantic  Sea,  down  to  the  49th  degree,  through  the  Lake  Abitibis,  to  the 
North-West  Ocean."  On  the  other  hand,  Mitchell,  in  his  great  map 
published  in  1755,  and  adopted  as  authority  by  the  British  and  American 
plenipotentiaries,  in  settling  the  limits  of  the  United  States,  in  1783,  gives 
as  the  "  Boundary  of  Hudson's  Bay  by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,"  a  line 
passing  irregularly  along  the  highlands  which  separate  the  waters  flowing 
to  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  lakes,  from  those  entering  Hudson's  Bay ; 
without  any  reference  to  the  49th  parallel,  or  any  other  straight  line. 

Ojie  or  the  other  of  these  lines  is  to  be  found  on  many  English  maps 
published  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century ;  though  no  boundary 
whatsoever  appears  on  the  greater  number,  including  the  large  and  beauti- 


■%.., 


438 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[P. 


ful  one  by  Popple  (173S,)  bearing  the  certificate  of  Dr.  Halley  to  its 
correctness;  the  admirable  maps  of  D'Anville,  De  L'Isle  and  Beliin ; 
those  in  the  Atlas  of  Maxwell  and  Senex  ( 1723) ;  in  Boyer's  Political 
State  (1721) ;  in  the  History  of  Hudson's  Bay,  by  Dobba,  the  governor 
of  that  territory  (1744);  in  the  Hiatoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  by 
Charlevoix  (1744) ;  in  the  System  of  Geography,  by  Bowen  (1747) ;  in  the 
American  Traveller  (1769) ;  in  the  American  Atlas,  by  Jeffries  (1778) ; 
in  the  History  of  the  French  Dominions  in  America,  by  Jeffries  (1760) ; 
nor  in  the  map  of  America,  from  the  materials  by  Governor  Pownal 
(1794) :  nor  is  there  any  allu^on  to  such  a  line  in  the  works  to  which 
these  maps  are  attached,  or  in  any  uther  work  or  map  of  reputation  pub- 
lished during  the  lust  century,  save  those  above  mentioned.   ' 

Of  the  works  which  may  be  considered  as  authorities,  the  following, — 
comprising,  it  is  belieVed,  all  in  which  a  record  or  notice  of  such  a  trans- 
action, if  it  had  taken  place,  should  be  found, —  are  entirely  silent  with 
regard  to  any  decision  or  other  act  of  commissaries  appointed  under  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht,  to  settle  the  line  of  separation  between  the  Hudson's 
Bay  territories  and  the  French  possessions;  viz.  the  collections  of 
treaties  by  Dumont,  Boyer,  Martens,  Jenkinson,  Herstlet,  and  others; 
Actes,  Mti moires,  etc.,  concernant  la  Paix  d'Utrecht,  1716,  and  Actes 
Negotiations,  etc.,  depuis  la  Paix  Utrecht,  1745,  —  two  voluminous 
works,  containing,  it  may  be  supposed,  every  public  document,  and  no- 
tice of  every  act,  connected  witfi  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht, 
and  the  consequent  proceedings  ;  Collection  des  Edits,  Ordounances,  etc., 
concernant  le  Canada,  Quebec,  1803,  apparently  a  complete  assemblage 
of  ail  the  most  important  public  documents  relative  to  Canada  and  the 
fur  trade ;  Memoires  des  Commissaires  Francais  et  Anglais,  sur  les  pos- 
sessions des  deux  Couronnes  en  Amerique,  1754  to  1757,  which  could 
not  have  thus  omitted  to  notice  this  settlement  of  boundaries,  if  it  had 
taken  place  ;  the  Histoire  de  la  Diplomatie  Fran9aise,  by  Flassan,  1811, 
and  the  Histoire  'ies  Traites  de  Paix,  by  Koch  and  Schoell,  1817.  To 
these  authorities  may  be  added,  as  equally  silent  on  the  subject,  the  His- 
tories of  England,  by  Tindal,  Smollet,  Belsham,  Hughes,  Mahon,  Wade, 
the  Parliamentary  History,  and  the  Pictorial  History  ;  the  Histories  of 
France,  by  Sismondi,  Anquetil,  and  Lncretelle;  Lord  John  Russel's 
Affairs  of  Europe  since  the  Peace  of  Utrecht;  the  Histories  of,  and 
Memoirs  on,  Louisiana,  by  La  Harpe,  Dumont,  Dupratz,  Vergennes,  and 
Marbois;  the  political  works  of  Swift,  Bolingbroke  and  Voltaire ;  and 
many  other  works  relating  to  the  History  of  the  period  at  which  this  set- 
tlement of  the  northern  limit  of  Louisiana  is  said  to  have  been  made. 
This  is  all  negative  evidence,  indeed  ;  but  it  is  equivalent  to  a  positive 
contradiction  of  the  supposition  that  any  settlement  of  boundaries  between 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Territory  and  the  French  possessions  was  made  under 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht ;  as  such  a  transaction  could  not  have  escaped  no- 
tice in  all,  or  indeed  in  any,  of  the  works  mentioned  in  this  paragraph,  if 
it  had  taken  place,  and  especially  if  it  had  been  so  notorious  as  the  know- 
ledge of  it  by  those  who  asserted  it  would  seem  to  indicate. 

That  commissaries  were  appointed  to  settle  boundaries  agreeably  to 
the  tenth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  is  certain  :  those  of  Great  Brit- 
ain were  Messrs.  Daniel  Pulteney  and  Martin  Bladen  ;  those  of  France 
were  Marechai  d'Estrees,  and  the  Abbe  Dubois.   They  were  appointed  and 


Q.] 


PROOFS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


met  in  Paris  in  the  winter  of  1719-20 ;  but  the  archives  of  the  two  na- 
tions present  no  evidence,  that  anything  was  concluded  between  them  on 
any  point ;  and  Charlevoix,  in  his  History  of  New  France,  says,  with  re- 
spect to  the  difficulties  between  the  British  and  the  Indians  in  Nova  Sco- 
tia in  1722,  "  France  took  no  part  in  this  dispute,  in  order  to  avoid  giv- 
ing tlie  slightest  pretext  for  interrupting  the  good  understanding  between 
the  two  nations,  which  had  been  restored  with  so  much  difficulty  ;  even  the 
negotiations  between  the  two  courts,  for  the  settlement  of  boundaries, 
ceased,  although  commissaries  had  been  appointed  for  that  object  since 
1719.  Anderson,  in  his  History  of  Commerce,  and  Macpherson,  in  his 
Annals  of  Commerce,  both  positively  deny  that  any  boundaries  were  set- 
tled under  the  treaty  of  Utrecht ;  "  it  being  well  known  to  all  E-irope, 
that  France  never  permits  her  commissaries  to  determine  such  matters, 
unless  with  great  advantage  to  herself." 


G. 

Papers    relative    to   the    American    Establishment  of  Astoria, 
ON  the  Columbia  River. 

(1.) 

Letter  from  J.  J.  Astor,  of  New  York,  to  the  Honorable  John  Quincy 
Adams,  Secretary  of  Slate  of  the  United  Slates.* 

New  York,  Jan.  4th,  1823. 

Sir,  —  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  24th  ultimo.  In- 
disposition has  prevented  my  acknowledging  the  receipt  thereof  at  an 
earlier  period. 

You  request  information  of  arrangements  made,  at  or  about  1814,  by 
the  North-West  Company  and  citizens  of  the  United  States,  by  which 
that  company  became  possessed  of  a  settlement  made  at  the  mouth  of 
.Columbia  River  by  citizens  of  the  United  States.  The  settlement  to 
which  you  allude,  i  presume,  is  "  Astoria,"  as  I  know  of  no  other  having 
been  made  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  that  river.  Several  circumstances 
are  alleged,  as  having  contributed  to  the  arrangement  by  which  the 
North-West  Company  became  in  possession  of  that  settlement,  but 
chiefly  to  the  misuse  of  the  confidence  which  had  been  placed  in  Mr.  Mc 
Dougal,  who,  at  the  time  the  arrangement  was  made,  and  at  the  time  my 
agent,  Mr.  Wilson  P.  Hunt,  was  absent,  acted  as  sub-agent. 

I  beg  leave  briefly  to  state,  that  contemplating  to  make  an  establish- 
ment, at  the  mouth  of  Columbia  River,  which  should  serve  as  a  place 
of  depot,  and  give  further  facilities  for  conducting  a  trade  across  this 
continent  to  that  river,  and  from  thence,  on  the  range  of  north-west  coast, 
dtc.  to  Canton,  in  China,  and  from  thence  to  the  United  States,  arrange- 
ments were  accordingly  made,  in  1810,  for  a  party  of  men  to  cross  the 

*  Documents  accompanying  President  Monroe's  message,  January  27th,  1823. 


440 


WmOOM  AMD   ILLVrrKATIOlfB. 


[a 


continent  for  the  Columbia  River.  At  the  same  time,  I  fitted  out  the 
■hip  Tonquin,  carrying  twenty  guns  and  sixty  men,  commanded  by  the 
late  Captain  Thorn,  lieutenant  in  the  United  States  navy.  The  ship 
■ailed  in  September,  1810,  having  on  board  the  means  for  making  an 
establishment  at  Columbia,  where  she  arrived  on  the  22d  oi  Nnrch,  1811. 
They  landed,  found  the  natives  friendly,  and  built  a  fort,  erected  a  house, 
■tore,  dec.  This  being  accomplished,  Captain  Thorn  left  thirty  men  in 
possession  of  the  place,  to  await  the  party  who  were  to  make  the  voyage 
over  land ;  these,  also,  happily  arrived,  though  not  till  several  months  after. 
On  or  about  the  Ist  of  June,  Captain  Thorn  left  Columbia  River,  with  a 
view  to  make  some  trade  on  the  coast,  and  then  to  return  to  the  river ; 
but,  unfortunately.  Thorn  never  returned.  At  about  two  hundred  miles 
north  of  Columbia,  he  put  in  a  bay  to  trade  with  the  natives.  Nut  at- 
tending to  the  precailtions  necessary,  as  he  had  been  instructed  to  do,  to 
guard  ogainst  an  attack,  he  suffered  a  whole  tribe  of  Indians  to  come  on 
board  and  about  his  ship.  An  attack  was  made ;  he  was  overpowered : 
fire  was  communicated  to  the  magazine,  the  ship  was  blown  up,  and  every 
soul  on  board  or  near  her  perished. 

In  1811,  I  fitted  out  another  ship,  the  Beaver,  carrying  twenty  guns, 
with  a  duplicate  cargo  to  the  ship  Tonquin,  and  sixty  or  seventy  men. 
The  Captain  [Sowles]  was  instructed  to  sail  for  the  Columbia  River,  and 
in  search  of  the  men  who  were  sent  across  the  continent,  as  also  of  the 
Tonquin.  The  Beaver  sailed  from  this  in  October,  1811,  arrived  at  Co* 
lunibia  in  May  following,  found  the  establishment,  and  landed  such  men, 
goods,  provisions,  &c.,  as  the  establishment  was  in  need  of.  My  instruc- 
tions  to  the  c<iptain  were,  that,  after  supplying  the  establishment,  he  should 
proceed  to  Chatka,*  a  Russian  settlement,  for  the  purpose  of  trade,  and 
then  return  to  Columbia,  take  what  furs  we  had,  and  proceed  to  Canton, 
and  thence  ti"  New  York.  He  accordingly  left  Columbia,  (and,  most 
unfortunately,  Mr.  Hunt,  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  my  chief  agent,  left 
the  river  with  hira,)  sailed,  as  directed,  for  the  Russian  settlement,  and 
effected  their  object;  but,  instead  of  following  instructions  to  return  to 
Columbia,  he  sailed  direct  for  Canton,  leaving  Mr.  Hunt  at  one  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  to  await  the  arrival  of  another  ship,  which  I  had  prom- 
ised to  send  ftom  this  in  1812.  The  ship  Beaver  arrived  at  Canton,  and 
received  there  the  news  of  the  war.  I  had  sent  orders  to  the  captain  to 
return  to  Astoria ;  but  he  was  fearful  of  being  captured,  and  remained 
safely  at  Canton  till  the  war  was  over,  when  he  came  home.  -  In  conse- 
quence of  the  war,  I  found  it  inconvenient  to  send  a  ship  in  1812,  but  I 
did  send  one,  the  Lark,  early  in  1813,  with  directions  to  the  captain  to 
sail  for  Columbia  River,  and  to  stop  at  the  Sandwich  Islands  for  informa- 
tion. Being  within  a  few  days'  sail  of  those  islands,  the  ship,  in  a  squall 
of  wind,  was  upset,  and  finally  drifted  on  the  beach  of  one  of  those 
islands,  a  wreck,  —  ship  and  cargo  totally  lost.  Here  was  met  Mr.  Hunt, 
who,  after  all  the  information  he  received,  and  my  great  desire  to  protect 
the  establishment  ot  Columbia  River,  procured  an  American  vessel,  took 
some  provisions,  sailed,  and  arrived  in  Columbia  River.  He  there  learned 
that  Mr.  McDougal  had  transferred  all  my  property  to  the  North-West 
Company,  who  were  in  possession  of  it  by  a  sale,  as  he  called  it,  for  the 
sum  of  about  fifty-eight  thousand  dollars,  of  which  he  retained  fourteen 


Sitka,  or  New  Archangel,  the  chief  establishment  in  Russian  America. 


[a 


aj 


rROOrS   AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


441 


thouiand  dollar§,  for  wages  said  to  be  due  to  some  of  the  men.  From  the 
price  obtained  for  the  goods,  &c.,  and  he  having  himself  become  interested 
m  the  purchase,  and  made  a  partner  of  the  North- Weitt  Company,  some 
idea  may  be  formed  as  to  this  man's  correctnesi)  of  dealings.  It  will  be 
■een,  by  the  aj^reement  (that  of  which  I  transmit  a  copy)  and  the  invento- 
ry, that  he  sold  to  the  Norlh-West  Company  eighteen  thousand  one 
hundred  and  seventy  and  a  quarter  pounds  of  beaver  at  two  dollars,  which 
was  at  that  titno  selling  in  Canton  at  five  and  six  dollars ;  nine  hundred 
and  seven  otter  skins  at  tiily  cents,  or  half  a  dollar,  which  were  selling  at 
Canton  at  five  to  six  dollars  per  skin. 

I  estimated  the  whole  property  to  be  worth  nearer  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  than  forty  thousand  dollars,  about  the  sum  I  received  in 
bills  on  Montreal.  Previous  to  the  transaction  of  McDougal,  we  had 
already  established  trading  posts  in  the  interior,  iiid  were  in  contact  with 
the  North- West  Company.  It  is  now  to  be  seet  *iat  means  have  been 
used  by  them  to  counteract  my  plan.     It  is  wc'  vn  that,  as  soon  as 

the  North-West  Company  had  information  of  inj  intention  and  plan  for 
conducting  my  commercial  operations,  they  despatched  a  party  of  men 
from  the  mterior,  with  a  view  to  arrive  before  my  people  at  Columbia. 
These  men  were  obliged  to  return  without  effecting  their  object.  In  the 
mean  time,  representation  was  made  to  their  government  as  to  the  proba- 
ble effect  of  my  operations  on  their  interest,  and  requesting  to  interfere 
in  their  behalf.  This  being  in  time  of  peace,  the  government  did  not 
deem  it  advisable  so  to  do.  So  soon,  however,  as  war  was  declared,  these 
representations  were  renewed,  aid  was  asked  from  the  government,  and  it 
was  granted.  The  Phoebe  frigate,  and  sloops  of  war  Raccoon  and  Por- 
cupine, were  sent  from  England,  with  orders  to  proceed  to  Columbia 
River,  and  destroy  my  property.  They  sailed  from  England  early  in  Jan- 
uary, 1813.  Arriving  at  Rio  Janeiro,  Admiral  Dickson  ordered  the 
Phoebe  frigate,  with  one  of  the  sloops,  to  pursue  Captain  Porter  in  the 
frigate  Kasex,  and  the  sloop  of  war  Raccoon,  to  the  Columbia.  She  ar- 
rived there,  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  king,  and  changed  the 
name  of  the  place  from  Astoria  to  Fort  George.  Previous  to  this,  the 
North-West  Company  had  despatched  another  or  second  party  of  men  to 
the  Columbia.  They  arrived  there  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Hunt;  McDou- 
gal gave  them  support  and  protection,  and  they  commenced,  afler  some 
time,  to  negotiate  with  this  gentleman. 

The  reasons  assigned  by  him  for  his  conduct  will  be  seen  by  an  extract 
of  a  letter  said  to  have  been  sent  by  a  Mr.  Shaw,  of  the  North-West 
Company,  and  of  which  I  send  you  a  copy.  The  plan  by  me  adopted 
was  such  as  must  materially  have  affected  the  interest  of  the  North-West 
and  Hudson's  Bay  Companies,  and  it  was  easy  to  be  foreseen  that  they 
would  employ  every  means  to  counteract  my  operations,  and  which,  as  my 
impression,  I  stated  to  the  executive  of  your  department  as  early  iis  Feb- 
ruary, 1813,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  copy  of  the  sketch  of  a  letter  which  I 
wrote  to  the  secretary  of  state,  and  to  which  no  reply  was  given.  On  re- 
peated application,  some  time  after,  aid  was  promised  me;  but  I  believe 
the  situation  of  our  country  rendered  it  inconvenient  to  give  it.  You 
will  observe  that  the  name  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  is'made  use  of  at 
the  commencement  of  the  arrangements  for  this  undertaking.  I  preferred 
to  have  it  appear  as  the  business  of  a  company,  rather  than  that  of  an 
individual ;  and  several  of  the  gentlemen  engaged  —  Mr.  Hunt,  Mr.  Crooks, 
56 


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442 


PBOOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


1^ 


Mr.  McKay,  McDougal,  Stuart,  &c.  —  were,  in  effect,  to  be  interested  as 
partners  in  the  undertaking,  so  far  as  respected  the  profit  which  might 
arise :  but  the  means  were  furnished  by  me,  and  the  property  was  solely 
mine,  and  I  sustained  the  loss,  which,  though  considerable,  I  do  not  re- 
gret, because,  had  it  not  been  for  the  unfortunate  occurrence  just  stated,  I 
should  have  been,  as  I  believe,  most  richly  rewarded ;  as  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  difference  of  price  in  the  beaver  and  otter  skins  alone,  say  what 
I  received,  and  the  value  of  them  at  Canton  at  that  time,  is  about  sixty 
thousand  dollars.  The  copy  of  the  agreement,  inventory,  and  extract  of 
Shaw's  letter,  you  will  please  return  to  me. 

I  am,  sir,  &c., 

John  Jacob  Astor 

(20 


'* 


Agreement  between  the  Agents  of  the  Pacific  Fur  Company  and  the  North- 
West  Company,  for  the  Transfer  of  the  Establishments  of  the  Former, 
on  the  Columbia  River,  to  the  Latter;  concluded  on  the  I6th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1813. 

The  association  heretofore  carrying  on  the  fur  trade  to  the  Columbia 
River  and  its  dependencies,  under  the  firm  and  denomination  of  the 
Pacific  Fur  Company,  being  dissolved,  on  the  1st  of  July  last,  by 
Duncan  McDougal,  Donald  McKenzie,  David  Stuart,  and  John  Clarke, 
with  the  intention  to  abandon  the  trade  in  that  quarter,  it  is  hereby  agreed, 
concluded,  and  settled  upon,  of  their  own  free  will  and  consent,  by 
Duncan  McDougal,  acting  for  himself  and  in  behalf  of  his  associates, 
namely,  Donald  McKenzie,  David  Stuart,  and  John  Clarke,  on  the  one 
part,  and  John  George  McTavish  and  John  Stuart,  acting  for  themselves 
and  in  behalf  of  the  North-West  Company,  on  the  other  part,  that  the 
following  agreement  and  settlement  take  place  between  them,  and  be 
binding  and  obligatory  in  the  manner,  and  subject  to  the  terms  and  agree- 
ments, hereinafter  specified  and  contained.  Now,  therefore,  it  is  hereby 
mutually  agreed  and  concluded,  by  and  between  the  said  parties  to  these 
presents,  and  they  do  hereby  mutually  covenant  and  agree,  to  and  with 
each  other,  in  manner  following,  that  is  to  say :  — 

Article  1.  The  party  of  the  former  part  hereby  covenants  and 
agrees  to  deliver,  or  cause  to  be  delivered,  the  whole  of  the  establish- 
ments, furs,  and  present  stock  in  hand,  on  the  Columbia  and  Thomp- 
son's Rivers,  as  soon  as  the  necessary  inventories  can  be  taken,  unto  the 
said  party  of  the  latter  part,  or  any  other  person  or  persons  appointed  by 
them  to  represent  the  North- West  Company,  to  receive  the  same  at  the 
prices  and  rates  concluded  and  agreed  upon  as  hereinafter  specified,  in 
article  fourth. 

Art.  2.   In  consideration  of  article  first  being  duly  and   faithfully 

Serformed  by  the  party  of  the  former  part,  they,  the  said  John  George 
IcTavish  and  John  Stuart,  for  themselves  and  on  behalf  of  the  North- 
West  Company,  do  bind  and  oblige  themselves  and  the  said  North-West 
Company,  or  ttieir  agents,  to  pay  or  cause  to  be  paid,  unto  the  said 
Duncan  McDougal,  acting  for  himself  and  in  behalf  of  his  associates,  as 
before  mentioned,  his  attorneys,  assigns,  or  order,  the  amount  of  the  sums 
arising  from  the  sale,  according  to  article  first,  and  the  rates  hereinafter 


0.1 


PROOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


443 


specified  in  article  fourth,  at  three  several  instalments;  the  first  one 
third  on  or  before  the  25th  of  October,  1814,  the  second  one  third  on 
or  before  the  25th  of  November,  and  the  remaining  one  third  on  or  be- 
fore  the  25th  of  December.  And,  further,  it  is  hereby  understood  that, 
should  the  party  of  the  former  part  find  it  convenient  to  leave  the  amount 
of  the  several  drafts,  after  becoming  payable,  as  already  specified,  in  the 
hands  of  the  party  of  the  latter  part,  or  their  agents,  they,  the  said  party 
of  the  latter  part,  or  their  agents,  will  allow  interest  at  six  per  cent,  until 
paid  on  demand ;  and,  as  there  are  several  moneys,  the  produce  of  their 
wages,  due  unto  the  people  employed  in  the  service  of  the  late  Pacific  Fur 
Company,  carrying  on  trade  on  the  Columbia  and  Thompson's  Rivers, 
the  said  party  of  the  latter  part,  namely,  John  George  McTavish  and  John 
Stuart,  acting  for  themselves  and  the  North-West  Company,  as  their 
agents,  do  hereby  bind  and  oblige  themselves  to  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid, 
unto  the  several  individuals  employed  by  the  party  of  the  former  part,  the 
amount  of  the  balances  due  to  them,  according  to  the  statement  that  shall 
be  delivered  by  the  said  Duncan  McDougal,  acting  for  himself  and  his 
associates,  as  before  mentioned,  within  one  month  after  their  arrival  at 
Montreal,  in  the  province  of  Lower  Canada ;  the  amount  of  which  several 
sums,  so  paid,  is  to  be  considered  as  part  of,  and  deducted  from,  the  first 
instalment,  to  be  paid  unto  the  said  Duncan  McDougal,  acting  for  him- 
self and  his  associates,  as  before  mentioned,  his  attorneys,  assigns,  or 
order,  on  or  before  the  25th  of  October,  1814. 

Art.  3.  And,  further,  the  said  John  George  McTavish  and  John 
Stuart,  acting  for  themselves  and  the  North-West  Company,  will  be  at 
liberty  to  make  a  selection,  and  take  into  their  service  such  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  employment  of  the  party  of  the  former  part  as  they  may  think 
proper ;  in  consideration  of  which,  the  said  party  of  the  latter  part  bind 
and  oblige  themselves  to  pay,  or  cause  to  be  paid,  unto  the  aaid  party  of 
the  former  part,  the  several  sums  due  to  them  by  such  as  may  enter  into 
the  service  of  the  party  of  the  latter  part :  and  the  said  party  of  the  latter 
part  further  bind  and  oblige  their. selves  to  provide  and  insure  a  safe  pas- 
sage to  the  said  party  of  the  former  part,  and  the  remaining  part,  that  will 
not  be  taken  into  their  service,  to  their  respective  homes. 

Art.  4.  And,  further,  it  is  hereby  agreed  and  concluded  upon,  by 
the  said  parties,  that  the  following  are  the  rates  at  which  the  establish- 
ments, furs,  and  stock  on  hand,  be  valued  at,  as  follows :  dry  goods,  sta- 
tionery, gunpowder,  and  leaf  tobacco,  fifty  per  cent,  on  the  prime  cost; 
ship  chandlery,  sixty  per  cent. ;  shot,  ball,  lead,  iron,  and  steel,  one 
hundred  per  cent. ;  deduction  on  made-up  iron  works  at  Columbia  River, 
thirty-three  and  one  third  per  cent. ;  new  boats,  each,  ten  pounds  Halifax 
currency ;  boats  in  use,  each,  five  pounds  Halifax  currency ;  shallop,  with 
rigging  complete,  one  hundred  and  twelve  pounds  ten  shillings ;  two  black- 
smith's forges  complete,  twenty-five  pounds ;  plug  tobacco,  one  shilling  and 
six  pence  per  pound ;  plug  tobacco  manufactured  at  Columbia,  one  shil- 
ling and  three  pence  per  pound ;  beads  assorted,  five  shillings  per  pound ; 
arms, cannon,  &c., prime  cost;  provisions  at  fixed  prices;  articles  in  use, 
half  inventory  prices;  horses,  thirty  shillings  each;  buildings,  two  hun- 
dred pounds ;  John  Reid's  adventure,  and  Freeman's,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Snake  country  and  Spanish  River,  to  deduct  one  hundred  per  cent.; 
beaver  furs,  ten  shillings  per  pound ;  beaver  coating,  eight  shillings  and 
four  pence  per  pound;   muskrats,  seven  pence  half-penny  each;  land 


44A 


HKNnrs  AND  ihLVvnuaiom. 


» 


otters,  two  Bhillings  and  six  pence  each;  sea  otters,  large,  sixty  shillings 
'each. 

And  for  the  faithful  performance  of  all  and  singular  the  said  covenants 
and  agreements,  to  be  by  them  respectively  kept  and  performed,  all  and 
every  of  the  parties  to  these  presents  bind  themselves,  separately  and 
jointly,  for  their  several  associates,  firmly  by  these  presents.  In  witness 
whereof,  the  parties  to  these  presents  have  hereunto  set  their  hands  and 
'seals,  this  16th  day  of  October,  1813,  at  the  entrance  of  Columbia  River, 
north-west  coait  of  America. 


Witnesses. 

John  C.  Hasley,         Angus  Bethvne, 
Gabriel  Franchere,  James  McMillan, 
Alfred  Seaton,  Joseph  McGillivbat. 

William  Wallace, 


Duncan  McDougal, 
J.  O.  McTavibh, 
J.  Stuart. 


Account  of  the  Capture  of  Astoria  hj  the  British  Sloop  of  War  Raccoon, 
Captain  Black,  in  December,  1813.  Extracted  from  "  Adventures  on 
the  Columbia  River,  by  John  Ross  Cox." 

The  Isaac  Todd  sailed  from  London  in  March,  1813,  in  company 
with  the  Phoebe  frigate,  and  the  Cherub  and  Raccoon  sloops  of  war. 
They  arrived  safe  at  Rio  Janeiro,  and  thence  proceeded  around  Cape 
Horn  to  the  Pacific,  having  previously  made  arrangements  to  meet  at 
Juan  Fernandez.  The  three  men-of-war  reached  the  latter  island,  after 
encountering  dreadful  gales  about  the  cape :  they  waited  there  some  time 
for  the  Isnac  Todd ;  but,  as  she  did  not  make  her  appearance.  Commo- 
dore Hillyer  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to  remain  any  longer  inactive.  He 
therefore,  in  company  with  the  Cherub,  proceeded  in  search  of  Commo- 
dore Porter,  who,  in  the  American  frigate  Essex,  was  clearing  the  South 
Sea  of  English  whalers,  and  inflicting  other  injuries  of  a  serious  nature 
on  our  commerce ;  he  shortly  after  met  the  Essex  at  Valparaiso,  and,  after 
a  severe  contest,  captured  her. 

At  the  same  time,  he  ordered  Captain  Black,  in  the  Raccoon,  to 
proceed  direct  to  the  Columbia,  for  the  purpose  of  destroying  the  Ameri- 
can establishments  at  Astoria.  The  Raccoon  arrived  at  the  Columbia  on 
the  1st  of  December,  1813.  The  surprise  and  disappointment  of  Captain 
Black  and  his  o'^cers  were  extreme,  on  learning  the  arrangement  that  had 
taken  place  between  the  two  companies,  by  whi  -h  the  establishment  had 
become  British  property.  They  had  calculated  on  obtaining  a  splendid 
prize  by  the  capture  of  Astoria,  the  strength  and  importance  of  which 
had  been  much  magnified;  and  the  contracting  parties  were  therefore 
fortunate  in  having  closed  their  bargain  previous  to  the  arrival  of  the 
Raccoon.  On  looking  at  the  wooden  fortifications.  Captain  Black  ex- 
claimed, "  Is  this  the  fort  about  which  I  have  heard  so  much?  D — n  me 
but  1  'd  batter  it  down  in  two  hours  with  a  four-pounder."  Captain  Black, 
however,  took  possession  of  Astoria  in  the  name  of  his  Britannic  majesty, 


as 


a] 


rRoon  AND  iLiiiniviuiTiom. 


441 


and  rebaptized  it  by  the  name  of  "  Fort  Oeorge"  He  also  insisted  on 
having  an  inventory  taken  of  the  valuable  stock  of  furs,  and  all  other 
property  purchased  from  the  American  company,  with  a  view  to  the  adop- 
tion of  ulterior  proceedings  in  England  for  the  recovery  of  the  value  from 
the  North- West  Company ;  but  he  subsequently  relinquished  this  idea,  and 
we  heard  no  more  about  his  claims. 

The  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  knew  well  that  Great 
Britain  and  America  were  distinct  nations,  and  that  they  were  then  at 
war,  but  were  ignorant  of  the  arrangement  made  between  Messrs.  McDou- 
gal  and  McTavish,  the  former  of  whom  still  continued  as  nominal 
chief  at  the  fort.  On  the  arrival  of  the  Raccoon,  which  they  quickly 
discovered  to  be  one  of  "Kin^  George's  fighting  ships,""  they  repaired, 
armed,  to  the  fort,  and  requested  an  audience  of  Mr.  McDougal.  He 
was  somewhat  surprised  at  their  numbers  and  warlike  appearance,  and 
demanded  the  object  of  such  an  unusual  visit.  Comcomly,  the  principal 
chief  of  the  Chinooks,  (whose  daughter  McDougal  had  married,)  there* 
upon  addressed  him  in  a  long  speech,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said  that 
King  George  had  sent  a  ship  full  of  warriors,  and  loaded  with  nothing 
but  big  guns,  to  take  the  Americans  and  make  them  all  slaves,  and  that, 
as  they  (the  Americans)  were  the  first  white  men  who  settled  in  their 
country,  and  treated  the  Indians  like  good  relations,  they  had  resolved  to 
defend  theip  from  King  George's  warriors,  and  were  now  ready  to  conceal 
themselves  in  the  woods  close  to  the  wharf,  from  whence  they  would  be 
able,  with  their  guns  and  arrows,  to  shoot  all  the  men  that  should  attempt 
to  land  from  the  English  boats,  while  the  people  in  the  fort  could  fire  at 
them  with  their  big  guns  and  rifles.  This  proposition  was  uttered  with 
an  earnestness  of  manner  that  admitted  no  doubt  of  its  sincerity.  Two 
armed  boats  from  the  Raccoon  were  approaching ;  and,  had  the  people 
in  the  fort  felt  disposed  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of  the  Indians,  every  man 
in  them  would  have  been  destroyed  by  an  invisible  enemy.  Mr.  McDou- 
gal  thanked  them  for  their  friendly  offer,  but  added,  that,  notwithstanding 
the  nations  were  at  war,  the  people  in  the  boats  would  not  injure  him  or 
any  of  his  people,  and  therefore  requested  them  to  throw  by  their  war 
shirts  and  arms,  and  receive  the  strangers  as  their  friends.  1  hey  at  first 
seemed  astonished  at  this  answer;  but,  on  assuring  them,  in  the  most 
positive  manner,  that  he  was  under  no  apprehensions,  they  consented  to 
give  up  their  weapons  for  a  few  days.  They  afierwards  declared  they 
were  sorry  for  having  complied  with  Mr.  McDougal's  wishes ;  for  when 
they  observed  Captain  Black,  surrounded  by  his  officers  and  marines, 
break  the  bottle  of  Port  on  the  flag-staif,  and  hoist  the  British  ensign,  after 
changing  the  name  of  the  fort,  they  remarked  that,  however  we  might 
wish  to  conceal  the  fact,  the  Americans  were  undoubtedly  made  slaves ; 
and  they  were  not  convinced  of  their  mistake  until  the  sloop  of  war  had 
departed  without  taking  any  prisoners. 


446 


raOOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONB. 


m' 


H. 


DOOUMKMTS   BELATIVE   TO   THE    NEGOTIATION   IN    1826-7.* 


British  Statement  annexed  to  the  Protocol  of  the  sixth  Conference,  by 
Messrs.  Huskisson  and  Addington,  Plenipotentiaries  on  the  Part  of 
Great  Britain. 

The  government  of  Great  Britain,  in  proposing  to  renew,  for  a  further 
term  of  years,  the  third  article  of  the  convention  of  1818,  respecting  the 
territory  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  west  of  the  Rocky  IVloun- 
tains,  regrets  that  it  has  been  found  impossible,  in  the  present  negotiation, 
to  agree  upon  a  line  of  boundary  which  should  separate  those  parts  of  that 
territory,  which  might  henceforward  be  occupied  or  settled  by  the  subjects 
of  Great  Britain,  from  the  parts  which  would  remain  open  to  occupancy 
and  settlement  by  the  United  States. 

To  establish  such  a  boundary  must  be  the  ultimate  object  of  both 
countries.  With  this  object  in  contemplation,  and  from  a  persuasion  that 
a  part  of  the  difficulties  which  have  hitherto  prevented  its  attainment  is 
to  be  attributed  to  a  misconception,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  of 
the  claims  and  views  of  Great  Britain  in  regard  to  the  territory  in  ques- 
tion, the  British  plenipotentiaries  deem  it  advisable  to  bring  under  the 
notice  of  the  American  plenipotentiary  a  full  and  explicit  exposition  of 
those  claims  and  views. 

As  preliminary  to  this  discussion,  it  is  highly  desirable  to  mark  dis- 
tinctly the  broad  difference  between  the  nature  of  the  rights  claimed  by 
Great  Britain  and  those  asserted  by  the  United  States,  in  respect  to  the 
territory  in  question. 

Over  a  large  portion  of  that  territory,  namely,  from  the  42d  degree 
to  the  49th  degree  of  north  latitude,  the  United  States  claim  full  and  ex- 
clusive sovereignty. 

Great  Britain  claims  no  exclusive  sovereignty  over  any  portion  of  that 
territory.  Her  present  claim,  not  in  respect  to  any  part,  but  to  the  whole, 
is  limited  to  a  right  of  joint  occupancy,  in  common  with  other  states, 
leaving  the  right  of  exclusive  dominion  in  abeyance 

In  other  words,  the  pretensions  of  the  United  States  tend  to  the  ejec- 
tion of  all  other  nations,  and,  among  the  rest,  of  Great  Britain,  from  all 
right  of  settlement  in  the  district  claimed  by  the  United  States. 

The  pretensions  of  Great  Britain,  on  the  contrary,  tend  to  the  mere 
maintenance  of  her  own  rights,  in  resistance  to  the  exclusive  character  of 
the  pretensions  of  the  United  States. 

Having  thus  stated  the  nature  of  the  respective  claims  of  the  two 
parties,  the  British  plenipotentiaries  will  now  examine  the  grounds  on 
which  those  claims  are  founded. 

*  These  two  documents,  which  were  published  with  President  Adams's  Message  to 
Congress  of  December  12th,  1827,  are  here  inserted  in  full,  because  reference  is  fre- 
quently made  to  them  in  the  History,  particularly  to  the  British  paper,  the  numerous 
misstatements  in  which  are  exposed  and  refuted.  See  page  347,  and  other  pages,  as 
specified  in  the  notes.  h 


ttj 


PHOOFB   AMD   ILLUSTBATIOMS. 


447 


eiec- 
all 


The  claims  of  the  United  States  are  urged  upon  three  grounds : 

1st.   As  resulting  from  their  own  proper  right. 

2dly.  As  resulting  from  a  right  derived  to  them  from  Spain;  that 
power  having,  by  the  treaty  of  Florida,  concluded  with  the  United  States 
in  1819,  ceded  to  the  latter  all  their  rights  and  claims  on  the  western 
coast  of  America  north  of  the  42d  degree. 

3dly.  As  resulting  from  a  right  derived  to  them  from  France,  to 
whom  the  United  States  succeeded,  by  treaty,  in  possession  of  the 
province  of  Louisiana. 

The  first  right,  or  right  proper,  of  the  United  States,  is  founded  on 
the  alleged  discovery  of  the  Columbia  River  by  Mr.  Gray,  of  Boston, 
who,  in  1793,  entered  that  river,  and  explored  it  to  some  distance  from 
its  mouth. 

To  this  are  added  the  first  exploration,  by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  of  a 
main  branch  of  the  same  river,  from  its  source  downwards,  and  albo  the 
alleged  priority  of  settlement,  by  citizens  of  the  United  States,  of  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  same  river. 

The  second  right,  or  right  derived  from  Spain,  is  founded  on  the  alleged 
prior  discovery  of  the  region  in  dispute  by  Spanish  navigators,  of  whom 
the  chief  were,  1st,  Cabrillo,  who,  in  1543,  visited  that  coast  as  far  as  44 
degrees  north  latitude;  2d,  De  Fuca,  who,  as  it  is  affirmed,  in  1598, 
entered  the  straits  known  by  his  name,  in  latitude  49  degrees;  3d, 
Gualle,  who,  in  1583,  is  said  to  have  pushed  his  researches  as  high  as 
57  degrees  north  latitude ;  4th,  Perez,  and  others,  who,  between  the  years 
1774  and  1792,  visited  Nootka  Sound  and  the  adjacent  coasts. 

The  third  right,  derived  from  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  the  United 
States,  is  founded  on  the  assumption  that  that  province,  its  boundaries 
never  having  been  exactly  defined  longitudinally,  may  fairly  be  as- 
serted to  extend  westward  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  shore 
of  the  Pacific. 

Before  the  merits  of  these  respective  claims  are  considered,  it  is 
necessary  to  observe  that  one  only  out  of  the  three  can  be  valid. 

They  are,  in  fact,  claims  obviously  incompatible  the  one  with  the 
other.  If,  for  example,  the  title  of  Spain  by  first  discovery,  or  the  title 
of  France  as  the  original  possessor  of  Louisiana,  be  valid,  then  must  one 
or  the  other  of  those  kingdoms  have  been  the  lawful  possessor  of  that 
territory,  at  the  moment  when  the  United  States  claim  to  have  discovered 
it.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Americans  were  the  first  discoverers,  there 
is  necessarily  an  end  of  the  Spanish  claim;  and  if  priority  of  discovery 
constitutes  the  title,  that  of  France  falls  equally  to  the  ground. 

Upon  the  question,  how  far  prior  discovery  constitutes  a  legal  claim  to 
sovereignty,  the  law  of  nations  is  somewhat  vague  and  undefined.  It  is, 
however,  admitted  by  the  most  approved  writers  that  mere  accidental 
discovery,  unattended  by  exploration — by  formally  taking  possession  in 
the  name  of  the  discoverer's  sovereign — by  occupation  and  settlement, 
more  or  less  permanent — by  purchase  of  the  territory — or  receiving  the 
sovereignty  from  the  natives — constitutes  the  lowest  degree  of  title,  and 
that  it  IS  only  in  proportion  as  first  discovery  is  followed  by  any  or  all  of 
these  acts,  that  such  title  is  strengthened  and  confirmed. 

The  rights  conferred  by  discovery,  therefore,  must  be  discussed  on 
their  own  merits. 

But  before  the  British  plenipotentiaries  proceed  to  compare  the  relative 


448 


raoovt  um  illvbtiutioivs. 


[H. 


claims  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  in  this  respect,  it  will  be 
advisable  to  dispose  of  the  two  other  grounds  of  right,  put  forward  by  the 
United  States. 

The  second  ground  of  claim,  advanced  by  the  United  States,  is  the 
cession  made  by  Spain  to  the  United  States,  by  the  treaty  of  Florida, 
in  1819. 

If  the  conflicting  claims  of  Great  Britain  and  Spain,  in  respect  to  all 
that  part  of  the  coast  of  North  America,  had  not  been  finally  adjusted  by 
the  convention  of  Nootka,  in  the  ^ear  1790,  and  if  all  the  arguments  and 
pretensions,  whether  resting  on  priority  of  discovery,  or  derived  from  any 
other  consideration,  had  not  been  definitively  set  at  rest  by  the  signature 
of  that  convention,  nothing  would  be  more  easy  than  to  demonstrate  that 
the  claims  of  Great  Britain  to  that  country,  as  opposed  to  those  of  Spain, 
were  so  far  from  visionary,  or  arbitrarily  assumed,  that  they  established 
more  than  a  parity  of  title  to  the  possession  of  the  country  in  question, 
either  as  against  Spain,  or  any  other  nation. 

Whatever  that  title  may  have  been,  however,  either  on  the  part  of 
Great  Britain  or  on  the  part  of  Spain,  prior  to  the  convention  of  1790,  it 
was  from  thenceforward  no  longer  to  be  traced  in  vague  narratives  of 
discoveries,  several  of  them  admitted  to  be  apocryphal,  but  in  the  text  and 
stipulations  of  that  convention  itself 

By  that  convention  it  was  agreed  that  all  parts  of  the  north-western 
coast  of  America,  not  already  occupied  at  that  time  by  either  of  the  con- 
tracting parties,  should  thenceforward  be  equally  open  to  the  subjects 
of  both,  for  all  purposes  of  commerce  and  settlement ;  the  sovereignty 
remaining  in  abeyance. 

In  this  stipulation,  as  it  has  been  already  stated,  all  tracts  of  country 
claimed  by  Spain  and  Great  Britain,  or  accruing  to  either,  in  whatever 
manner,  were  included. 

The  rights  of  Spain  on  that  coast  were,  by  the  treaty  of  Florida,  in 
1819,  conveyed  by  Spain  to  the  United  States.  With  those  rights  the 
United  States  necessarily  succeeded  to  the  limitations  by  which  they 
were  defined,  and  the  obligations  under  which  they  were  to  be  exercised. 
From  those  obligations  and  limitations,  as  contracted  towards  Great 
Britain,  Great  Britain  cannot  be  expected  gratuitously  to  release  those 
countries,  merely  because  the  rights  of  the  party  originally  bound  have 
been  transferred  to  a  third  power. 

The  third  ground  of  clairi.  of  the  United  States  rests  on  the  right 
supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  cession  to  them  of  Louisiana  by 
France. 

In  arguing  this  branch  of  the  question,  it  will  not  be  necessary  to 
examine  in  detail  the  very  dubious  point  of  the  assumed  extent  of  that 
province,  since,  by  the  treaty  between  France  and  Spain  of  1763,  the 
whole  of  that  territory,  defined  or  undefined,  real  or  ideal,  was  ceded  by 
France  to  Spain,  and,  consequently,  belonged  to  Spain,  not  only  in  1790, 
when  the  convention  of  Nootka  was  signed  between  Great  Britain  and 
Spain,  but  also  subsequently,  in  1792,  the  period  of  Gray's  discovery  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  If,  then,  Louisiana  embraced  the  country 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  to  the  south  of  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude, 
it  must  have  embraced  the  Columbia  itself,  which  that  parallel  intPToccts ; 
and,  consequently,  Gray's  discovery  must  have  been  made  in  r.  country 
avowedly  already  appropriated  to  Spain,  and,  if  so  appropriatf>d,  neces- 


H.1 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONI. 


449 


Barily  included,  with  all  other  Spanish  possessions  and  claims  in  that 
quarter,  in  the  stipulations  of  the  Nootka  convention. 

Even  if  it  could  be  shown,  therefore,  that  the  district  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  was  within  the  boundaries  of  Louisiana,  that  circum- 
stance would  in  no  way  assist  the  claim  of  the  United  States. 

It  may,  nevertheless,  be  worth  while  to  expose,  in  a  few  words,  the 
futility  of  the  attempt  to  include  that  district  within  those  boundaries. 

For  this  purpose,  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to  the  original  srant  of 
Louisiana  made  to  De  Crozat  by  Louis  XIV.,  shortly  after  its  discovery 
by  La  Salle.  That  province  is  therein  expressly  described  as  "the 
country  drained  by  the  waters  entering,  directly  or  indirectly,  into  the 
Mississippi."  Now,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  any  of  the  tributaries 
of  the  Mississippi  cross  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  west  to  east,  it  is 
difficult  to  conceive  how  any  part  of  Louisiana  can  be  found  to  the  west 
of  that  ridge. 

There  remains  to  be  considered  the  first  ground  of  claim  advanced 
by  the  United  States  to  the  territory  in  question,  namely,  that  founded 
on  their  own  proper  right  as  first  discoverers  and  occupiers  of  that 
territory. 

If  the  discovery  of  the  country  in  question,  or  rather  the  mere  en« 
trance  into  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  by  a  private  American  citizen,  be, 
as  the  United  States  assert,  (although  Great  Britain  is  far  from  admitting 
the  correctness  of  the  assertion,)  a  valid  ground  of  national  and  exclusive 
claim  to  all  the  country  situated  between  the  42d  and  49th  parallels  of 
latitude,  then  must  any  preceding  discovery  of  the  same  country,  by  an 
individual  of  any  other  nation,  invest  such  nation  with  a  more  valid, 
because  a  prior,  claim  to  that  country. 

Now,  to  set  aside,  for  the  present,  Drake,  Cook,  and  Vancouver,  who  all 
of  them  either  took  possession  of,  or  touched  at,  various  points  of  the  coast 
in  question.  Great  Britain  can  show  that  in  1788  —  that  is,  four  years 
before  Gray  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River  —  Mr.  Meares,* 
a  lieutenant  of  the  royal  navy,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  East  India 
Company  on  a  trading  expedition  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America, 
had  already  minutely  explored  that  coast,  from  the  49th  degree  to  the  45th 
degree  north  latitude ;  had  taken  formal  possession  of  the  Straits  of  De 
Fuca,  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign ;  hr  I  purchased  land,  trafficked  and 
formed  treaties  with  the  natives ;  and  hati  actually  entered  the  bay  of  the 
Columbia,  to  the  northern  headland  of  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Cape 
Disappointment —  a  name  which  it  bears  to  this  day. 

Dixon,  Scott,  Duncan,  Strange,  and  other  private  British  traders,  had 
also  visited  these  shores  and  countries  several  years  before  Gray ;  but  the 
single  example  of  Meares  suffices  to  quash  Gray's  claim  to  prior  discovery. 
To  the  other  navigators  above  mentioned,  therefore,  it  is  unnecessary  to 
refer  more  particularly. 

It  may  be  worth  while,  however,  to  observe,  with  regard  to  Meares, 
that  his  account  of  his  voyages  was  published  in  London  in  August, 
1790;  that  is,  two  years  before  Gray  is  even  pretended  to  have  entered 
the  Columbia. 

To  that  account  are  appended,  first,  extracts  from  his  log-book ; 
secondly,  maps  of  the  coasts  and  harbors  which  he  visited,  in  which  every 


•  See  p.  177. 


57 


460 


PROOri   AND    ILLUSTRATION!. 


[H. 


put  of  the  coBit  in  question,  including  the  bay  of  the  Columbia,  {into 
which  the  log  expre$$ljf  states  that  Meares  entered,)  is  minutely  Ittid  down, 
itfl  delineation  tallying,  in  almost  every  particular,  with  Vancouver's  sub* 
■equent  aurvev,  and  with  the  description  found  in  all  the  best  maps  of 
that  part  of  the  world,  adopted  at  this  moment ;  thirdly,  the  account  in 
question  actually  contains  an  engraving,  dated  in  August,  1790,  of  the 
entrance  of  De  Fuca's  Straits,  executed  after  a  design  taken  in  June, 
1788,  by  Meares  himself. 

With  these  phyoical  evidences  of  authenticity,  it  is  as  needless  to 
contend  for,  as  it  is  impossible  to  controvert,  the  truth  of  Meares's 
statement. 

It  wai  only  on  the  Vlth  of  September,  1788,  that  the  Washington, 
commanded  by  Mr.  Gray,  first  made  her  appearance  at  Nootka. 

If,  therefore,  any  claim  to  these  countries,  as  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States,  is  to  be  deduced  from  priority  of  the  discovery,  the 
above  exposition  of  dates  and  facta  suffices  to  establish  that  claim  in  favor 
of  Great  Britain,  on  a  basis  too  firm  to  be  shaken. 

It  must,  indeed,  be  admitted  that  Mr.  Gray,  finding  himself  in  the 
bay  formed  by  the  discharge  of  the  waters  of  the  Columbia  into  the 
Pacific,  was  the  first  to  ascertain  that  this  bay  formed  the  outlet  of  a 

Seat  river  —  a  discovery  which  had  escaped  Lieutenant  Meares,  when, 
1788,  four  years  before,  he  entered  the  same  bay. 

But  can  it  be  seriously  urged  that  this  single  step  in  the  progress  of 
discovery  not  only  wholly  supersedes  the  prior  discoveries,  both  of  the 
bay  and  the  coast,  by  Lieutenant  Meares,  but  equally  absorbs  the  subse- 
quent exploration  of  the  river  by  Captain  Vancouver,  for  near  a  hundred 
miles  above  the  point  to  which  Mr.  Gray's  ship  had  proceeded,  the  formal 
taking  possession  of  it  by  that  British  navigator,*  in  the  name  of  his 
sovereign,  and  also  all  the  other  discoveries,  explorations,  and  temporary 
possession  and  occupation  of  the  ports  and  harbors  on  the  coast,  as  well 
of  the  Pacific  as  within  the  Straits  of  De  Fuca,  up  to  the  49th  parallel 
of  latitude  7 

This  pretension,  however,  extraordinary  as  it  is,  does  not  embrace 
the  whole  of  the  claim  which  the  United  States  build  upon  the  limited 
discovery  of  Mr.  Gray,  namely,  that  the  bay  of  which  Cape  Disappoint- 
ment is  the  northernmost  headland,  is,  in  fact,  the  embouchure  of  a 
river.  That  mere  ascertainment,  it  is  asserted,  confers  on  the  United 
States  a  title,  in  exclusive  sovereignty,  to  the  whole  extent  of  country 
drained  by  such  river,  and  by  all  its  tributary  streams. 

In  support  of  this  very  extraordinary  pretension,  the  United  States 
allege  the  precedent  of  grants  and  charters  accorded  in  former  times  to 
companies  and  individuals,  by  various  European  sovereigns,  over  several 
parts  of  the  American  continent.  Amongst  other  instances  are  adduced 
the  charters  granted  by  Elizabeth,  James  I.,  Charles  II.,  and  George  II., 
to  sundry  British  subjects  and  associations,  as  also  the  grant  made  by 
Louis  XiV.  to  De  Crozat  over  the  tract  of  country  watered  oy  the 
Mississippi  and  its  tributaries. 

But  can  such  charters  be  considered  an  acknowledged  part  of  the 
law  of  nations  T  Were  they  any  thing  more,  in  fact,  than  a  cession  to 
the  grantee  or  grantees  of  whatever  rights  the  grantor  might  suppose 


•  See  p.  348. 


M.1 


PROOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


491 


himself  to  possess,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  subjects  of  the  same  sov- 
ereiffQ  ?  —  charters  binding  and  restraining  those  only  who  were  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  grantor,  and  of  no  force  or  validity  against  the 
subjects  of  other  states,  until  recognized  by  treaty,  and  thereby  becom- 
ins  a  part  of  international  law.* 

Haa  the  United  States  thought  proper  to  issue,  in  1790,  by  virtue  of 
their  national  authority,  a  charter  granting  to  Mr.  Gray  the  whole  extent 
of  country  watered,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  the  River  Columbia,  such  a 
charter  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  valid  in  Mr.  Gray's  favor,  as  against 
all  other  citizens  of  the  United  States.  But  can  it  be  supposed  tnat  it 
would  have  been  acquiesced  in  by  either  of  the  powers.  Great  Britain 
and  Spain,  which,  in  that  same  year,  were  preparing  to  contest  by  arms 
the  possession  of  the  very  country  which  would  have  been  the  subject  of 
such  a  grant  ? 

If  the  right  of  sovereignty  over  the  territory  in  question  accrues  to 
the  United  States  by  Mr.  Gray's  discovery,  how  happens  it  that  they  never 
protested  against  the  violence  done  to  that  right  by  the  two  powers,  who, 
by  the  convention  of  1790,  regulated  their  respective  rights  in  and  over  a 
district  so  belonging,  as  it  is  now  asserted,  to  the  United  States  T 

This  claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  territory  drained  by  the  C(^ 
lumbia  and  its  tributary  streams,  on  the  ground  of  one  of  their  citizens 
having  been  the  first  to  discover  the  entrance  of  that  river,  has  been  here 
so  far  entered  into,  not  because  it  is  considered  to  be  necessarily  entitled 
to  notice,  since  the  whole  country  watered  by  the  Columbia  falls  within 
the  provisions  of  the  convention  of  1790,  but  because  the  doctrine  above 
alluded  to  has  been  put  forward  so  broadly,  and  with  such  confidence,  by 
the  United  States,  that  Great  Britain  considered  it  equally  due  to  herself 
and  to  other  powers  to  enter  her  protest  against  it. 

The  United  States  further  pretend  that  their  claim  to  the  country  in 
question  is  strengthened  and  confirmed  by  the  discovery  of  the  sources  of 
the  Columbia,  and  by  the  exploration  of  its  course  to  the  sea  by  Lewis 
and  Clarke,  in  1805-6. 

In  reply  to  this  allegation.  Great  Britain  affirms,  and  can  distinctly 
prove,  that,  if  not  before,  at  least  in  the  same  and  subsequent  years, 
her  North- Western  Trading  Company  had,  by  means  of  their  agent,  Mr. 
Thomson,  already  established  their  posts  among  the  Flat-head  and  Koo- 
tanie  tribes,  on  the  head-waters  of  the  northern  or  main  branch  of  the 
Columbia,  and  were  gradually  extending  them  down  the  principal  stream 
of  that  river;  thus  giving  to  Great  Britain,  in  this  particular,  again,  as  in 
the  discovery  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  a  title  to  parity  at  least,  if  not 
priority,  of  discovery,  as  opposed  to  the  United  States.  It  was  from  those 
posts,  that,  having  heard  of  the  American  establishment  forming  in  1811, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  Mr.  Thomson  hastened  thither,  descending  the 
river,  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  that  establishment.t 

Some  stress  having  been  laid  by  the  United  States  on  the  restitution 
to  them  of  Fort  George  by  the  British,  after  the  termination  of  the  last 
war,  which  restitution  they  represent  as  conveying  a  virtual  acknowledg- 
ment by  Great  Britain  of  the  title  of  the  United  States  to  the  country  in 
which  that  post  was  situated,  —  it  is  desirable  to  state,  somewhat  in  detail, 
the  circumstances  attending  that  restitution. 


See  p.  350. 


t  See  p.  S91, 297. 


468 


VBOOrS   AMD    ILLCSTRATlONlf. 


[H. 


In  the  yetr  1815,  a  demand  for  the  reatoration  of  Fort  George  waa 
firat  made  to  Great  Britain,  by  the  American  government,  on  the  plea 
that  the  Arst  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent  stipulated  the  reatitution 
to  the  United  States  of  all  posta  and  places  whatsoever,  taken  from  them 
by  the  British  during  the  war,  in  which  description  Fort  George  (Astoria) 
waa  included. 

For  aome  time  the  Britiah  government  demurred  to  comply  with  the 
demand  of  the  United  States,  because  they  entertained  doubts  how  far  it 
could  be  sustained  by  the  construction  of  the  treaty. 

In  the  firat  place,  the  trading  post  called  Fort  Astoria  (or  Fort 
Oeorse)  waa  not  a  national  possession ;  in  the  second  place,  it  was  not 
a  military  post ;  and,  thirdly;  it  was  never  captured  from  the  Americana 
by  the  British. 

It  was,  in  fact,  conveyed  in  regular  commercial  transfer,  and  ac- 
companied by  a  bill  of  sale,  for  a  sum  of  money,  to  the  British  company, 
who  purchased  it,  by  the  American  company,  who  sold  it  of  their  own 
free  mil. 

It  is  true  that  a  British  sloop  of  war  had,  about  that  time,  been  sent 
to  take  possession  of  that  post,  but  she  arrived  subsequently  to  the  trans- 
action above  mentioned,  between  the  two  companies,  and  found  the  British 
company  alrettdy  in  legal  occupation  of  their  self-acquired  property , 

In  consequence,  however,  of  that  ship  having  been  sent  out  with 
hostile  views,  although  those  views  were  not  carried  into  effect,  and  in 
order  that  not  even  the  shadow  of  a  reflection  might  be  cast  upon  the 
good  faith  of  the  British  government,  the  latter  determined  to  give  the 
most  liberal  extension  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  and,  in  1818, 
the  purchase  which  the  British  company  had  made  in  1813  was  restored 
to  the  United  States.* 

Particular  care,  however,  was  taken,  on  this  occasion,  to  prevent 
any  misapprehension  as  to  the  extent  of  the  concession  made  by  Great 
Britain. 

Viscount  Castlereagh,  in  directing  the  British  minister  at  Washington 
to  intimate  the  intention  of  the  British  government  to  Mr.  Adams,  then 
secretary  of  state,  uses  these  expressions,  in  a  despatch  dated  4th  of 
February,  1818:— 

"  You  will  observe,  that,  whilst  this  government  is  not  disposed  to 
contest  with  the  American  government  the  point  of  possession  as  it 
stood  in  the  Columbia  River  at  the  moment  of  the  rupture,  they  are  not 
prepared  to  admit  the  validity  of  the  title  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States  to  this  settlement. 

"  In  signifying,  therefore,  to  Mr.  Adams  the  full  acquiescence  of  your 
government  in  the  reoccupation  of  the  limited  position  which  the  United 
States  held  in  that  river  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  you  will  at  the 
same  time  assert,  in  suitable  terms,  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  to  that  terri* 
tory,  upon  which  the  American  settlement  must  be  considered  as  an 
encroachment." 

This  instruction  was  executed  verbally  by  the  person  to  whom  it 
was  addressed. 

The  following  is  a  transcript  of  the  act  by  which  the  fort  was 
delivered  up,  by  the  British,  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Prevost,  the  Amer- 
ican agent: — 

*  See  p.  309. 


R] 


PROOrS    Aim   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


463 


"  In  obedience  to  the  command  of  H.  R.  H.  the  prince  regent, 
tiffnified  in  a  despatch  from  the  right  hmorable  the  Earl  Bathurtt, 
addressed  to  the  partners  or  agents  of  the  North- West  Company,  bearing 
date  the  27th  of  January,  1818,  and  in  obedience  to  a  subsequent  order, 
dated  the  30th  July,  from  W.  H.  Sheriff,  Esq.,  captain  of  H.  M.  ship 
Andromache,  We,  the  undersigned,  do,  in  conformitv  to  the  first  article 
of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  restore  to  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
through  its  agent,  J.  P.  Prevost,  Esq.,  the  settlement  of  Fort  George, 
on  the  Columbia  River. 

"  Given  under  our  hands,  in  triplicate,  at  Fort  George,  (Columbia 
River,)  this  6th  day  of  October,  1818. 

"  F.  HicKET,  Captain  H.  M.  ship  Blotsom, 
"  J.  Keith,  of  the  N.  W.  Co." 

The  following  is  the  despatch  from  Earl  Bnthurst  to  the  partners  of 
the  North- West  Company,  referred  to  in  the  above  act  of  cession :  — 

■'  "  DowNiifo  Strext,  S7M  January,  1818. 

"Intelligence  having  been  received  that  the  United  States  sloop  of 
war  Ontario  has  been  sent  by  the  American  government  to  establish  a 
settlement  on  the  Columbia  Kiver,  which  was  held  by  that  state,  on 
the  breaking  out  of  the  Inst  war,  I  am  to  acquaint  you,  that  it  is  the 
prince  regent's  pleasure  {without,  however,  admitting  the  right  of  that 
government  to  the  possession  in  question)  that,  in  pursuance  of  the  first 
article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  due  facility  should  be  given  to  the  reoccu- 
pation  of  the  said  settlement  by  the  officers  of  the  United  States;  and  I  am 
to  desire  that  you  would  contribute  as  much  as  lies  in  your  power  to 
the  execution  of  his  royal  highness's  commands. 

"  I  have,  &c.  &.C., 

"  Bathurst.  •«> 
••  To  the  Partners  or  Agents  of  the  North-West  Company, 
residing  on  the  Columbia  River." 


it 

iras 
lier» 


The  above  documents  put  the  case  of  the  restoration  of  Fort  Astoria 
in  too  clear  a  light  to  require  further  observntinn. 

The  case,  then,  of  Great  Britain,  in  respect  to  the  country  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  is  shortly  this :  — 

Admitting  that  the  United  States  have  acquired  all  the  rights  which 
Spain  possessed,  up  to  the  treaty  of  Florida,  either  in  virtue  of  discovery, 
or,  as  is  pretended,  in  right  of  Louisiana,  Great  Britain  maintains  that  the 
nature  and  extent  of  those  rights,  as  well  as  of  the  rights  of  Great  Britain, 
are  fixed  and  defined  by  the  convention  of  Nootka ;  thot  these  rights  are 
equal  for  both  parties ;  and  that,  in  succeeding  to  the  rights  of  Spain, 
under  that  convention,  the  United  States  must  also  have  succeeded  to  the 
obligations  which  it  imposed. 

Admittinor,  further,  the  discovery  of  Mr.  Gray,  to  the  extent  already 
stated.  Great  Britain,  taking  the  whole  line  of  the  coast  in  question,  with 
its  straits,  harbors,  and  bays,  has  stronger  claims,  on  the  ground  of  prior 
discovery,  attended  with  acts  of  occupancy  and  settlement,  than  the 
United  States. 

Whether,  therefore,  the  United  States  rest  their  claims  upon  the  title 


454 


FBOOFB    AND   ILLV8TRATI0NS. 


n 


of  Spain,  or  upon  that  of  prior  discovery,  or  upon  both,  Great  Britain  is 
entitled  to  place  her  claims  at  least  upon  a  parity  with  those  of  the 
United  States. 

It  is  a  fact,  admitted  by  the  United  States,  that,  ^ith  the  exception 
of  the  Columbia  River,  there  is  no  river  which  opens  far  into  the  interior, 
on  the  whole  western  coast  of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

In  the  interior  lif  the  territory  in  question,  the  subjects  of  Great 
Britain  have  had,  for  many  years,  numerous  settlements  and  trading 
posts  —  several  of  these  posts  on  the  tributary  streams  of  the  Columbia, 
several  upon  the  Columbia  itself,  some  to  the  northward,  and  others  to 
the  southward,  of  that  river  ^  and  they  navigate  the  Columbia  as  the  sole 
channel  for  the  conveyance  of  their  produce  to  the  British  stations  nearest 
the  sea,  and  for  the  shipment  of  it  from  thence  to  Great  Britain.  It'  is 
also  by  the  Columbia  and  its  tributary  streams  that  these  posts  and 
settlements  receive  their  annual  supplies  from  Great  Britain. 

In  the  whole  of  the  territory  in  question,  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  have  not  a  single  settlement  or  trading  post.  They  do  not  use 
that  river,  either  for  the  purpose  of  transmitting  or  receiving  any  produce 
of  their  own,  to  or  from  other  parts  of  the  world. 

In  this  state  of  the  relative  rights  of  the  two  countries,  and  of  the 
relative  exercise  of  those  rights,  the  United  States  claim  the  exclusive 
possession  of  both  banks  of  the  Columbia,  and,  consequently,  that  of  the 
river  itself;  offering,  it  is  true,  to  concede  to  British  subjects  a  conditional 
participation  in  that  navigation,  but  subject,  in  any  case,  to  the  exclusive 
jurisdiction  and  sovereignty  of  the  United  States. 

Great  Britain,  on  her  part,  offers  to  make  the  river  the  boundary; 
each  country  retaining  the  bank  of  the  river  contiguous  to  its  own  ter- 
ritories, and  the  navigation  of  it  remaining  forever  free,  and  upon  a  foot- 
ing of  perfect  equality  to  both  nations. 

To  carry  into  effect  this  proposal,  on  our  part.  Great  Britain  would 
have  to  give  up  posts  and  settlements  south  of  the  Columbia.  On  the 
part  of  the  United  States,  there  could  be  no  reciprocal  withdrawing  from 
actual  occupation,  as  there  is  not,  and  never  has  been,  a  single  American 
citizen  settled  north  of  the  Columbia. 

The  United  States  decline  to  accede  to  this  proposal,  even  when 
Great  Britain  has  added  to  it  the  further  offer  of  a  most  excellent  harbor, 
and  an  extensive  tract  of  country  on  the  Straits  of  De  Fuca  —  a  sacrifice 
tendered  in  the  spirit  of  accommodation,  and  for  the  sake  of  a  final 
adjustment  of  all  difierences,  but  which,  having  been  made  in  this  spirit, 
is  not  to  be  considered  as  in  any  degree  recognizing  a  claim  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States,  or  as  at  all  impairing  the  existing  right  of  Great 
Britain  over  the  post  and  territory  in  question. 

Such  being  the  result  of  the  recent  negotiation,  it  only  remains  for 
Great  Britain  to  maintain  and  uphold  the  qualified  rights  which  she  now 
possesses  over  the  whole  of  the  territory  in  question.  These  rights  are 
recorded  and  defined  in  the  convention  of  Nootka.*  They  embrace  the 
right  to  navigate  the  waters  of  those  countries,  the  right  to  settle  in  and 
over  any  part  of  them,  and  the  right  freely  to  trade  with  the  inhabitants 
and  occupiers  of  the  same. 

These  rights  have  been  peaceably  exercised  ever  since  the  date  of 


See  eonnderationi  on  the  Nootka  convention,  at  p.  913. 


m 


PROOrS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


455 


that  convention ;  that  is,  for  a  period  of  near  forty  years.  Under  that 
convention,  valuable  British  interests  have  grown  up  in  those  countries. 
It  is  fully  admitted  that  the  United  States  possess  the  same  rights, 
although  they  have  been  exercised  by  them  only  in  a  single  instance, 
and  have  not,  since  the  year  1813,  been  exercised  at  all.  But  beyond 
thsse  rights  they  possess  none. 

To  the  interests  and  establishments  which  British  industry  and  enter- 
prise have  created,  Great  Britain  owes  protection.  That  protection  will 
be  given,  both  as  regards  settlement  and  freedom  of  trade  and  navigation, 
with  every  attention  not  to  infringe  the  coordinate  rights  of  the  United 
States;  it  being  the  earnest  desire  of  the  British  government,  so  long 
as  the  joint  occupancy  continues,  to  regulate  its  own  obligations  by  the 
same  rule  which  governs  the  obligations  of  any  other  occupying  party. 

Fully  sensible,  at  the  same  time,  of  the  desirableness  of  a  more 
definite  settlement,  as  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  the 
British  government  will  be  ready,  at  any  time,  to  terminate  the  present 
state  of  joint  occupancy  by  an  agreement  of  delimitation;  but  such 
arrangement  only  can  be  admitted  as  shall  not  derogate  from  the  rights 
of  Great  Britain,  as  acknowledged  by  treaty,  nor  prejudice  the  advantages 
which  British  subjects,  under  the  same  sanction,  now  enjoy  in  that  part 
of  the  world. 

(2.) 

Atneriean  Counter-Statement  annexed  to  the  Protocol  of  the  seventh  Co»- 
ference,  by  Mr.  Oallatin,  the  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States. 

The  American  plenipotentiary  has  read  with  attention  the  exposition 
of  the  claims  and  views  of  Great  Britain  in  regard  to  the  territory  west 
of  the  Rocky  or  Stony  Mountains,  annexed  by  the  British  plenipotentia- 
ries to  the  protocol  of  the  last  conference,  and  assures  them  that  it  will 
receive  from  his  government  all  ths  consideration  to  which  it  is  so  justly 
entitled. 

He  will  not  make  any  observations  on  that  part  of  the  exposition,  which, 
as  explanatory  of  the  views  of  the  British  government  in  reference  to 
a  continued  joint  occupancy,  he  can  only  refer  to  his  government.  The 
remarks  he  will  now  offer  are  necessarily  limited  to  the  respective  claims 
of  the  two  countries,  and  to  the  proposals  for  a  definitive  engagement 
which  have  been  made  by  each  party. 

Great  Britain  claims  no  exclusive  sovereignty  over  any  portion  of  the 
territory  in  question.  Her  claim  extends  to  the  whole,  but  is  limited  to 
a  right  of  joint  occupancy  in  common  with  other  states,  leaving  the  right 
of  exclusive  dominion  in  abeyance.  She  insists  that  hers  and  Spain's 
conflicting  claims  were  finally  adjusted  by  the  convention  of  Nootka,  in 
1790 ;  that  all  the  arguments  and  pretensions,  whether  resting  upon  prior- 
ity of  discovery,  or  derived  from  any  other  consideration,  were  definitively 
set  at  rest  by  that  convention ;  that,  from  its  date,  it  was  only  in  its  text 
and  stipulations  that  the  title,  either  on  her  part  or  on  that  of  Spain,  was 
to  be  traced ;  and  that  it  was  agreed  by  that  convention,  that  all  the  parts 
of  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  not  previously  occupied  by  either 


'\  > 


456 


FROOrS    AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


# 


party,  should  thenceforward  be  equally  open  to  the  subjects  of  both,  for 
all  purposes  of  commerce  and  settlement,  the  sovereignty  remaining  in 
abeyance. 

U  is  then  declared,  that,  in  reference  either  to  the  rights  derived  to  the 
United  States  from  Spain,  by  virtue  of  the  treaty  of  1819,  or  to  that  supposed 
to  be  derived  from  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  which  province  did,  in  the 
year  1790,  belong  to  Spain,  the  United  States  have,  with  these  rights, 
necessarily  succeeded  to  the  limitations  by  which  they  were  defined,  and 
the  obligations  under  which  they  were  to  be  exercised,  in  conformity  to 
the  stipulations  of  the  Nootka  convention;  whence  it  is  generally  in- 
ferred, that,  whilst  it  is  fully  admitted  that  the  United  States  possess  the 
same  rights  as  Great  Britam  over  the  country  in  question,  namely,  to 
navigate  its  waters,  to  settle  in  any  part  of  it,  and  freely  to  trade  with  the 
inhabitants  and  occupiers  of  the  same,  beyond  these  rights,  the  United 
States  possessed  none,  and  that  they  cannot,  therefore,  claim  exclusive 
sovereignty  over  any  part  of  the  said  territory. 

It  will,  in  the  first  place,  be  observed,  that,  admitting  that  convention 
to  be  still  in  force,  and  of  whatever  construction  it  may  be  susceptible, 
this  compact  between  Spain  and  Great  Britain  could  only  bind  the  parties 
to  it,  and  can  affect  the  claim  of  the  United  States  so  far  only  as  it  is  de- 
rived from  Spain.  If,  therefore,  they  have  a  claim  in  right  of  their  own 
discoveries,  explorations,  and  settlements,  as  this  cannot  be  impaired  by 
the  Nootka  convention,  it  becomes  indispensably  necessary,  in  order  to 
defeat  such  claim,  to  show  a  better  prior  title  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain, 
derived  from  some  other  consideration  than  the  stipulations  of  that  con- 
vention. But,  on  examining  that  instrument,  it  will  be  found  to  be  ap- 
;jiarently  merely  of  a  commercial  nature,  and  in  no  shape  to  affect  the 
question  of  distinct  jurisdiction  and  exclusive  sovereignty. 

It  was  agreed,  by  that  convention,  "  that  the  respective  subjects  of  the 
two  parties  should  not  be  disturbed  or  molested,  either  in  navigating  or 
carrying  on  their  fisheries  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  or  in  the  South  Seas,  or 
in  landing  on  the  coast  of  those  seas,  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for 
the  purpose  of  carrying  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the  coun- 
try, or  of  making  settlements  there."     And  further,  "  that  in  all  places 

,  wherever  the  subjects  of  either  shall  have  made  settlements  since 

the  month  of  April,  1789,  or  shall  hereafter  make  any,  the  subjects  of 
the  other  shall  have  free  access,  and  shall  carry  on  their  trade  without  any 
disturbance  or  mulestation." 

It  is  difficult  to  believe,  on  reading  those  provisions,  and  recollecting 
in  what  cause  the  convention  originated,  that  any  other  settlements  could 
have  been  contemplated  than  such  as  were  connected  with  the  commerce 
to  be  carried  on  with  the  natives.  Indeed,  it  is  as  being  only  of  a  com- 
mercial nature,  that  the  Nootka  convention  may  be  positively  asserted  to 
be  now  in  force ;  the  commercial  treaties  between  Great  Britain  and 
Spain  having,  subsequent  to  the  war  which  ha^  intervened,  been  alone 
renewed  by  the  treaty  of  July,  1814. 

Admitting,  however,  that  the  word  " settlement"  was  meant  in  its  most 
unlimited  sense,  it  is  evident  that  the  stipulations  had  not  for  object  to 
settle  the  territorial  claims  of  the  parties,  and  had  no  connection  with  an 
ultimate  partition  of  the  country,  for  the  purpose  of  permanent  coloni- 
zation. 

Those  stipulations  permitted  promiscuous  and  intermixed  settlements 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


457 


every  where,  and  over  the  whole  face  of  the  country,  to  the  subjects  of 
both  parties,  and  even  declared  every  such  settlement,  made  by  either 
party,  in  a  degree  common  to  the  otlier.  Such  a  state  of  things  is  clearly 
incompatible  with  distinct  jurisdiction  and  sovereignty.  The  convention, 
therefore,  could  have  had  no  such  object  in  view  as  to  fix  the  relations  of 
the  contracting  powers  in  that  respect.  On  that  subject  it  established  or 
changed  nothing,  but  left  the  parties  wherv'?  it  found  them,  and  in  posses* 
sion  of  all  such  rights,  whether  derived  from  discovery,  or  from  any  other 
consideration,  as  belonged  to  each,  to  be  urged  by  each,  whenever  the 
question  of  permanent  and  separate  possession  and  sovereignty  came  to 
be  discussed  between  them. 

It  is,  indeed,  expressly  admitted  that  the  convention  provided  for  com- 
merce and  settlements,  leaving  the  sovereignty  in  abeyance.  And  Great 
Britain,  at  this  time,  claims  only  a  right  of  joint  occupancy,  in  common 
with  other  nations,  leaving  the  right  of  exclusive  dominion  in  abeyance.  It 
is  not  perceived  how  it  can,  at  the  same  time,  be  asserted  that  the  argu- 
ments and  pretensions  of  both  parties  were  definitively  set  ot  rest  by  the 
convention,  and  that  it  is  only  in  its  text  and  stipulations  that  the  title  on 
either  side  is  now  to  be  traced. 

Commerce  and  settlements  might,  indeed,  be  made  by  either  party, 
during  the  joint  occupancy,  without  regard  to  their  respective  pretension 
or  title,  from  whatever  consideration  derived.  But  since  the  sovereignty, 
since  the  right  of  exclusive  dominion,  has  been  left  in  abeyance,  that  right 
over  any  part  of  the  country,  to  whichever  party  belonging,  has  not  been 
extinguished,  but  only  suspended,  and  must  revive  to  its  full  extent  when- 
ever that  joint  occupancy  may  cease. 

Whenever,  therefore,  a  final  line  of  demarkation  becomes  the  subject 
of  discussion,  the  United  States  have  a  right,  notwithstanding,  and  in 
conformity  to  the  Nootka  convention,  to  appeal,  in  support  of  their  claims, 
not  only  to  their  own  discoveries,  but  to  all  the  rights  derived  from  the 
acquisition  of  Louisiana,  and  from  their  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain,  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  that  convention  had  never  been  made.  The  question 
to  be  examined  is,  whether  those  claims  are  supported  by  the  laws  and 
usages  of  nations. 

It  may  be  admitted,  as  an  abstract  principle,  that,  in  the  origin  of  soci- 
ety, first  occupancy  and  cultivation  were  the  foundation  of  the  rights  of 
private  property  and  nf  national  sovereignty.  But  that  principle,  on  which 
principally,  if  not  exclusively,  it  would  seem  that  the  British  government 
wishes  to  rely,  could  be  permitted,  in  either  case,  to  operate  alone,  and 
without  restriction,  so  long  only  as  the  extent  of  vacant  territory  was 
such,  in  proportion  to  population,  that  there  was  ample  room  for  every 
individual,  and  for  every  distinct  community  or  nation,  without  danger  of 
collision  with  others.  As,  in  every  society,  it  had  soon  become  necessary 
to  make  laws,  regulating  the  manner  in  which  its  members  should  be 
permitted  to  occupy  and  to  acquire  vacant  land  within  its  acknowledged 
boundaries,  so,  also,  nations  found  it  indispensable  for  the  preservation 
of  peace,  and  for  the  exercise  of  distinct  jurisdiction,  to  adopt,  particu- 
larly after  the  discovety  of  America,  some  general  rules,  which  should 
determine  the  important  previous  question,  "  Who  had  a  right  to  occupy?" 

The  two  rules  generally,  perhaps  universally,  recognized  and  conse- 
crated by  the  usage  of  nations,  have  flowed  from  the  nature  of  the  subject. 

By  virtue  of  the  first,  prior  discovery  gave  a  right  to  occupy,  provided 

58 


458 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[H. 


that  occupancy  took  place  within  a  reasonable  time,  and  was  ultimately 
followed  by  permanent  settlements,  and  by  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

In  conformity  with  the  second,  the  right  derived  from  prior  discovery 
and  settlement  was  not  confined  to  the  spot  so  discovered  or  first  settled. 
The  extent  of  territory  which  would  attach  to  such  first  discovery  or  set- 
tlement might  not,  in  every  case,  be  precisely  determined.  But  that  the 
first  discovery,  and  subsequent  settlement,  within  a  reasonable  time,  of 
the  mouth  of  a  river,  particularly  if  none  of  its  branches  had  been  ex- 
plored prior  to  such  discovery,  gave  the  right  of  occupancy,  and,  ulti- 
mately, of  sovereignty,  to  the  whole  country  drained  by  such  river  and  its 
several  branches,  has  been  generally  admitted.  And,  in  a  question  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  her  acts  have,  with  propriety, 
been  appealed  to,  as  showing  that  the  principles  on  which  they  rely  accord 
with  her  own. 

It  is,  however,  now  contended  that  the  British  charters,  extending,  in 
most  cases,  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the  South  Seas,  must  be  consid- 
ered as  cessions  of  the  sovereign  to  certain  grantees,  to  the  exclusion  only 
of  his  other  subjects,  and  as  of  no  validity  against  the  subjects  of  other 
states.  This  construction  does  not  appear  either  to  have  been  that  in- 
tended at  the  time  by  the  grantors,  nor  to  have  governed  the  subsequent 
conduct  of  Great  Britain. 

By  excepting  from  the  grants,  as  was  generally  the  case,  such  lands  as 
were  already  occupied  by  the  subjects  of  other  civilized  nations,  it  was 
clearly  implied  that  no  other  exception  was  contemplated,  and  that  the 
grants  were  intended  to  include  all  the  unoccupied  lands  within  their  re- 
spective boundaries,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  persons  or  nations  what- 
soever. In  point  of  fact,  the  whole  country  drained  by  the  several  rivers 
emptying  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  the  mouths  of  which  were  within  those 
charters,  has,  from  Hudson's  Bay  to  Florida,  and,  it  is  believed,  without 
exception,  been  occupied  and  held  by  virtue  of  those  charters.  Not  only 
has  this  principle  been  fully  confirmed,  but  it  has  been  notoriously  en- 
forced, much  beyond  the  sources  of  the  rivers  on  which  the  settlements 
were  formed.  The  priority  of  the  French  settlements  on  the  rivers  flow- 
ing westwardly  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains  into  the  Mississippi,  was 
altogether  disregarded ;  and  the  rights  of  the  Atlantic  colonies  to  extend 
beyond  those  mountains,  as  growing  out  of  the  contiguity  of  territory, 
and  as  asserted  in  the  earliest  charters,  was  effectually  and  successfully 
enforced. 

It  is  true,  that  the  two  general  rules  which  have  been  mentioned  might 
often  conflict  with  each  other.  Thus,  in  the  instance  just  alluded  to,  the 
discovery  of  the  main  branch  of  the  Mississippi,  including  the  mouth  of 
that  river,  and  the  occupation  of  the  intervening  province  of  Louisiana  by 
another  nation,  gave  rise,  at  last,  to  a  compromise  of  those  conflicting 
claims,  and  induced  Great  Britain  to  restrain  hers  within  narrower  limits 
than  those  originally  designated. 

But  it  is  the  peculiar  character  of  the  claim  of  the  United  States,  that 
it  is  founded  on  both  principles,  which,  in  this  case,  unite  both  in  its  sup- 
port, and  convert  it  into  an  incontestable  right.  It  is  in  vain  that,  in 
order  to  avert  that  conclusion,  an  attempt  is  made  to  consider  the  several 
grounds  on  which  that  right  is  urged,  as  incompatible  one  with  the  other, 
as  if  the  United  States  were  obliged  to  select  only  one,  and  to  abandon 
the  others.     In  different  hands,  the  several  claims  would  conflict  one  with 


H.1 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


489 


,in 
eral 
ler, 
ion 
ritb 


the  Other.  Now,  united  in  the  same  power,  they  support  each  other. 
The  possessors  of  Louisiana  might  hare  contended,  on  the  ground  of  con- 
tiguity, for  the  adjacent  territory  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  with  the  di^ 
coveries  of  the  coast  and  of  its  main  rivers.  The  several  discoveries  of 
the  Spanish  and  American  navigators  might  separately  have  been  consid- 
ered as  so  many  steps  in  the  progress  of  discovert/,  and  giving  only 
imperfect  claims  to  each  party.  All  those  various  claims,  from  whatever 
consideration  derived,  are  now  brought  united  against  the  pretensions  of 
any  other  nation. 

1st.  The  actual  possession  and  populous  settlements  of  the  valley  of 
the  Mississippi,  including  Louisiana,  and  now  under  one  sovereignty,  con- 
stitute a  strong  claim  to  the  westwardly  extension  of  that  provmce  over 
the  contiguous  vacant  territory,  and  to  the  occupation  and  sovereignty  of 
the  country  as  far  as  the  Pacific  Ocean.  If  some  trading  factories  on  the 
shores  of  Hudson's  Bay  have  been  considered,  by  Great  Britain,  as  giving 
an  exclusive  right  of  occupancy  as  far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  if  the 
infant  settlements  on  the  more  southern  Atlantic  shores  justified  a  claim 
thence  to  the  South  Seas,  and  which  was  actually  enforced  to  the  Missis- 
sippi, that  of  the  millions  already  within  reach  of  those  seas  cannot  con- 
sistently be  resisted.  For  it  will  not  be  denied  that  the  extent  of 
contiguous  territory,  to  which  an  actual  settlement  gives  a  prior  right, 
must  depend,  in  a  considerable  degree,  on  the  magnitude  and  population 
of  that  settlement,  and  on  the  facility  with  which  the  vacant  adjacent  land 
may,  within  a  short  time,  be  occupied,  settled,  and  cultivated,  by  such 
population,  as  compared  with  the  probability  of  its  being  thus  occupied 
and  settled  from  any  other  quarter. 

It  has  been  objected  that,  in  the  grant  of  Louisiana  to  Crozat,  by  Louis 
XIV.,  that  province  is  described  as  "  the  country  drained  by  the  wa- 
ters emptying,  directly  or  indirectly,  into  the  Mississippi,  excluding 
thereby,  by  implication,  the  country  drained  by  the  waters  emptying  into 
the  Pacific. 

Crozat's  grant  was  not  for  the  whole  of  the  province  of  Louisiana,  as  it 
was  aflerwards  extended  by  France  herself,  and  as  it  is  now  held  by  the 
United  States.  It  was  bounded,  in  that  grant  of  1712,  by  Carolina  to  the 
east,  by  New  Mexico  to  the  west,  and  on  the  north  by  the  Illinois,  which 
were  then  part  of  Canada.  The  most  northerly  branches  of  the  Missis- 
sippi embraced  in  the  grant  were  the  Ohio,  at  that  time  called  Wabash 
by  the  French,  and  the  Missouri,  the  true  course  of  which  was  not 
known  at  that  time,  and  the  sources  of  which  were  not  supposed  to  ex- 
tend north  of  the  42d  parallel  of  latitude.  No  territory  on  the  west  of 
the  Mississippi  was  intended  to  be  included  in  the  grant  north  of  that  par^ 
allel ;  and  as  New  Mexico,  which  bounded  it  on  the  west,  was  understood 
to  extend  even  farther  north,  it  was  impossible  that  any  territory  should 
have  been  included  west  of  the  sources  of  the  rivers  emptying  into  the 
Mississippi. 

All  the  territory  north  of  the  42d  parallel  of  latitude,  claimed  by  France, 
was  included  at  that  time,  not  in  Louisiana,  but  in  the  government  of  New 
France,  as  Canada  was  then  called.  And  by  referring  to  the  most  authen- 
tic French  maps,  it  will  be  seen  that  New  France  was  made  to  extend 
over  the  territory  drained,  or  supposed  to  be  drained,  by  rivers  entering 
into  the  South  Seas.  The  claim  to  a  westwardly  extension  to  those  seas, 
was  thus  early  asserted  as  part,  not  of  Louisiana,  but  of  New  France. 


400 


PROOrS    AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[H. 


The  king  had  reserved  to  himself,  in  Crozat's  grant,  the  right  of  enlarging 
the  government  of  Louisiana.  This  was  done  by  an  ordonnance  dated  ia 
the  year  1717,  which  annexed  the  Illinois  to  it;  and,  ifom  that  time,  the 
province  extended  as  fur  as  the  most  northern  limit  of  the  French  posses- 
sions in  North  America,  and  thereby  west  of  Canada  c<-  New  France. 
The  settlement  of  that  northern  limit  still  further  strengthens  the 
claim  of  the  United  States  to  the  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. 

The  limits  between  the  northerly  possessions  of  Great  Britain,  in 
North  America,  and  those  of  France,  in  the  same  quarter,  namely,  Can- 
ada and  Louisiana,  were  determined  by  commissioners  appointed  in  pur- 
suance of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  From  the  coast  of  Labrador  to  a  certain 
point  north  of  Lake  Superior,  those  limits  were  fixed  according  to  certain 
metes  and  bounds,  and  from  that  point  the  line  of  demarkation  was 
agreed  to  extend  indefinitely  due  west,  along  the  49th  parallel  of  north 
latitude.  It  was  in  conformity  with  that  arrangement  that  the  United 
States  did  claim  that  parallel  as  the  northern  boundary  of  Louisiana.  It 
has  been,  accordingly,  thus  settled,  as  far  as  the  Stony  Mountains,  by  the 
convention  of  1818,  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain ;  and 
no  adequate  reason  can  be  given  why  the  same  boundary  should  not  be 
continued  as  far  as  the  claims  of  the  United  States  do  extend  ;  that  is  to 
say,  as  far  as  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This  argument  is  not  weakened  by  the 
fact,  that  the  British  settlements  west  of  the  Stony  Mountains  are  solely 
due  to  the  extension  of  those  previously  formed  on  the  waters  emptying 
into  Hudson's  Bay  ;  and  it  is  from  respect  to  a  demarkation,  considered  as 
binding  on  the  parties,  that  the  United  States  had  consented  to  confine 
their  claim  to  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  namely,  to  a  territory  of  the 
same  breadth  as  Louisiana  east  of  the  Stony  Mountains,  although,  as 
founded  on  prior  discoveries,  that  claim  would  have  extended  much  farther 
north. 

2dly.  The  United  States  have  an  undoubted  right  to  claim,  by  virtue 
both  of  the  Spanish  discoveries  and  of  their  own.  Setting  aside  all  those 
which  are  not  supported  by  authentic  evidence,  some  of  the  most  impor- 
tant were  made  by  Spanish  navigators  prior  to  Cook's  voyage.  In  1774, 
Perez,  in  the  Spanish  corvette  Santiago,  discovered  Nootka  Sound,  in 
latitude  49°  30',  and  sailed  to  the  55th  degree,  discovering  Lougara 
Island  and  Perez  (now  called  Dixon's)  Entrance,  north  of  Q,ueen  Char- 
lotte Island.  In  1775,  Quadra,  in  the  Spanish  schooner  Felicidad,  of 
which  Maurelle  was  pilot,  discovered  various  ports  between  the  55th 
and  58th  degrees,  and  explored  the  coast  from  42°  to  54°,  landing  at 
several  places,  imposing  names  to  some,  and  not  being,  at  any  time, 
hardly  more  than  ten  leagues  from  the  shore. 

In  other  Spanish  voyages  of  a  subsequent  date,  those  of  Arteaga  and 
Quadra  in  1779,  and  of  Martinez  and  Haro  in  1786,  various  other  parts 
of  the  north-west  coast  were  explored,  as  far  north  as  the  60th  degree  of 
north  latitude. 

The  Straits  of  Fuca  were  discovered,  or  again  found,  in  1787,  by  Cap- 
tain Barclay,  of  the  Imperial  Eagle,  a  vessel  fitted  out  at  Ostend.  The 
entrance  was,  in  1788,  again  visited  by  the  English  Captains  Meares  and 
Duncan.  In  the  same  year.  Captain  Gray,  of  the  American  sloop  Wash- 
ington, (who  arrived  at  Nootka  in  September,  coming  from  the  south, 
where  he  had  landed,)  penetrated  fifty  miles  up  the  straits.    They  were 


ILl; 


PROOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


49t 


and 
ish- 
ith, 
rere 


explored  in  1791,  hy  the  Spnnifih  Captains  Qaimpa  and  Eliza,  beyoarf  the 
50th  degree  of  latitude.  Their  complete  survey,  and  the  discovery  of 
the  northern  outlet,  in  1793,  are  due  principally  to  Captain  Vancouver, 
who  sailed  through  them  in  company  with  the  Spanish  vessels  8util  and 
Mexicana. 

The  discovery,  which  belong  exclusively  to  the  United  States,  and  in 
their  own  right,  is  that  of  the  River  Columbia. 

The  continuity  of  the  coast  from  the  42d  to  the  48th  degree  of  latitude, 
had  been  ascertained  by  the  voyage  of  Quadra,  in  1775,  and  confirmed 
by  that  of  Captain  Cook  in  1778.  The  object  of  discovery  thenceforth, 
was  that  of  a  large  river,  which  should  open  a  communication  with 
the  interior  of  the  country.  This  had  escaped  Quadra,  who  had  sailed  iu 
sight  of  the  entrance  afterwards  discovered.  Meares  failed  likewise  in  his 
attempt,  in  the  year  1788,  to  make  the  discovery.  Captain  Vancouver 
was  not  more  fortunate.  After  having  also  sailed  along  the  coast,  from 
south  to  north,  to  the  48th  degree,  he  recorded  in  his  journal  of  the  29th 
April,  1792,  which  he  had  too  much  probity  afterwards  to  alter,  his  opii^* 
ion  that  there  was  no  large  river  south  of  48°,  but  only  small  creeks.  On 
the  ensuing  day  he  met  at  sea  with  Captain  Gray,  then  commanding  the 
American  ship  "  Columbia,"  who  informed  him  of  the  existence  of  the 
river,  at  the  mouth  of  which  he  (Gray)  had  been  for  several  days  without 
being  able  to  enter  it. 

Captain  Vancouver  proceeded  to  Fuca's  Straits,  and  Captain  Gray 
returned  to  the  south,  where  he  completed  his  discovery,  having,  on  the 
11th  May,  entered  the  river  which  bears  the  name  of  his  ship,  and  as- 
cended it  upwards  of  twenty  miles.  He  then,  having  also  discovered 
Gray's  Harbor,  went  to  Nootka  Sound,  where  he  again  met  with  Captain 
Vancouver,  to  whom  he  communicated  his  discoveries,  and  gave  him  a 
rough  chart  of  the  river.  With  this  inforsnation,  one  of  Captain  Vancou- 
ver's officers  was  sent  to  take  a  survey  of  Gray's  Harbor,  and  another  that 
of  the  Columbia  River,  which  he  ascended  about  eight  miles  higher  up 
than  Gray. 

Yet,  in  order  to  found  a  claim  derived  from  a  share  in  the  discovery, 
that  of  Captain  Gray  is  called  only  a  step  in  the  pro^rress  of  discovery  ; 
and  it  is  attempted  to  divide  its  merit  between  him,  Meares,  and  Captain 
Vancouver's  officer. 

It  must  again  be  repeated,  that  the  sole  object  of  discovery  was 
"  the  river,"  and,  coming  from  sea,  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Meares 
only  followed  Quadra's  track.  Had  he  susrgested  or  suspected  the  ex- 
istence of  a  river,  when  he  was  near  its  entrance,  it  would  have  been  a 
step  in  the  progress  of  discovery.  So  far  from  it,  that,  in  his  map,  he  has 
laid  the  presumed  mouth  of  the  great  river  of  the  west,  of  the  tradi- 
tional Oregon,  of  the  real  Columbia,  in  the  Straits  of  Fuca.  The  very 
names  which  he  imposed,  Cape  Disappointment  and  Deception  Bay,  attest 
his  failure. 

Captain  Vancouver,  having  completed  his  survey  of  that  part  of  the 
coast,  with  a  conviction  that  no  large  river  emptied  there  into  the  ocean, 
would  not  have  explored  it  again,  had  he  not  received  the  information  from 
Captain  Gray  of  his  discoveries.  And,  in  fact,  in  his  second  visit  to  that 
quarter,  he  surveyed,  or  caused  to  be  surveyed,  only  the  harbor  and  the 
river  which  had  been  indicated  to  him.     The  lieutenant  sent  to  the  Co* 


469 


PnOOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


(It 


lambia,  and  who  never  would  have  gone  there  had  it  not  been  for  Captain 
Gray's  information,  performed,  no  doubt,  with  fidelity,  the  mechanical 
duty  of  taking  the  soundings  one  hundred  miles  up  its  course.  In  that 
consists  bis  sole  merit :  in  the  discovery  he  had  not  the  slightest  share. 
The  important  services  rendered  to  navigation  and  to  science,  by  that  offi- 
cer and  by  Captain  Vancouver,  are  fully  acknowledged ;  and  their  well- 
earned  reputation  cannot  be  increased  by  ascribing  to  them  what  exclu- 
sively belongs  to  another. 

Louisiana  having  been  acquired  by  the  United  States  in  1803,  an 
expedition  was  immediately  ordered  by  government  to  examine  its  west- 
ern districts.  In  the  course  of  this,  Captains  Lewis  and  Clarke  ascended 
the  Missouri  to  its  source,  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  ex- 
plored the  course  of  the  Columbia,  from  its  most  eastern  sources  to  its 
mouth,  where  they  arrived  on  the  6th  of  November,  180.5.  There  they 
erected  the  works  called  Fort  Clatsop,  and  wintered  in  1805-1806.  And 
thus  was  the  discovery  of  the  river  commenced  and  completed  by 
the  United  States,  before,  as  it  is  firmly  believed,  any  settlement  had 
been  made  on  it,  or  any  of  its  branches  been  explored,  by  any  other 
nation. 

This  is  corroborated  by  the  statement  of  the  British  plenipotentiaries. 
After  having  given,  as  the  date  of  Lewis  and  Clarke's  exploration,  not 
the  year  1805,  but  the  years  1805-1806,  they  assert  that,  if  not  before,  at 
least  in  the  same  and  subsequent  years,  Mr.  Thomson  had  already  estab- 
lished a  post  on  the  head-waters  of  the  northern  or  main  branch  of  the 
Columbia.  Had  that  post  been  established  in  1805,  before  Lewis  and 
Clarke's  exploration,  another  and  more  distinct  mode  of  expression  would 
have  been  adopted.  But  it  cannot  be  seriously  contended  that,  if  Mr. 
Thomson  had,  in  that  year,  reached  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Colum- 
bia, north  of  the  50th  degree  of  latitude,  this,  compared  with  the 
complete  American  exploration,  would  give  to  Great  Britain  "  a  title 
to  parity,  at  least,  if  not  priority  of  discovery,  as  opposed  to  the  United 
States." 

In  the  year  1810,  Mr.  Astor,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  fitted  out 
two  expeditions  for  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  ;  one  by  sea,  and  the  other 
by  land,  from  the  Missouri.  In  March,  181 1 ,  the  establishment  of  Astoria 
was  accordingly  commenced  near  the  mouth  of  the  river,  before  any  Brit- 
ish settlement  had  been  made  south  of  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude. 
From  that  principal  post,  several  other  settlements  were  formed ;  one  of 
them,  contrary  to  the  opinion  entertained  by  the  British  plenipotentiaries, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Wanahata,  several  hundred  miles  up,  and  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Columbia. 

These  establishments  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British  during  the 
war  ;  and  that  of  Astoria  has  since  been  formally  restored,  in  conformity 
with  the  treaty  of  Ghent.  On  the  circumstances  of  that  restitution,  it  is 
sufficient  to  observe,  that,  with  the  various  despatches  from  and  to  the 
officers  of  the  British  government,  the  United  States  have  no  concern  ; 
that  it  is  not  stated  how  the  verbal  communications  of  the  British  minister 
at  Washington  were  received,  nor  whether  the  American  government 
consented  to  accept  the  restitution,  with  the  reservation,  as  expressed  in 
the  despatches  to  that  minister  from  his  government ;  and  that  the  only 
written  document  aifecting  the  restoration,  known  to  be  in  possession  of 


H.1 


PR00T8    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


468 


that  of  the  United  States,  is  the  act  of  restoration  itself,  which  contains 
no  exception,  reservation,  or  protest,  whatever. 

It  has  thus  been  established,  that  the  Columbia  River  was  first  discov- 
ered by  the  United  States ;  that  that  first  discovery  was  attended  by  a  com- 
Elete  exploration  of  the  river,  from  its  most  easterly  source  to  the  north, 
efore  any  such  exploration  had  been  made  by  any  other  nation ;  by  a 
simultaneous  actual  occupation  and  possession,  and  by  subsequent  estab- 
lishments and  settlements  made  within  a  reasonable  time,  and  which  have 
been  interrupted  only  by  the  casualties  of  war. 

This,  it  is  contended,  gives,  according  to  the  acknowledged  law  and 
usages  of  nations,  a  right  to  the  whole  country  drained  by  that  river  ond 
by  its  tributary  streams,  which  could  have  been  opposed  only  by  the  con- 
flicting claim  derived  from  the  possession  of  Louisiana.  Both,  united  and 
strengthened  by  the  other  Spanish  and  American  discoveries  along  the 
coast,  (and,  without  reference  to  the  cession  of  the  pretensions  of  Spain, 
derived  from  other  considerations,)  establish,  it  is  tirmly  believed,  a 
stronger  title  to  the  country  above  described,  and  along  the  coast  as  far 
north,  at  least,  as  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  than  has  ever,  at  any  for- 
mer time,  been  asserted  by  any  nation  to  vacant  territory. 

Before  the  subject  is  dismissed,  it  may  be  proper  to  observe,  that  the 
United  States  had  no  motive,  in  the  year  1790,  to  protest  against  the 
Nootka  convention,  since  their  exclusive  right  to  the  territory  on  the 
Pacific  originated  in  Gray's  discovery,  which  took  place  only  in  1792. 
The  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  and  their  last  treaty  with  Spain,  are  still 
posterior. 

On  the  formality  called  "  taking  possession,"  though  no  actual  pos- 
session of  the  country  is  taken,  and  on  the  validity  of  sales  of  land  and 
surrender  of  sovereignty  by  Indians,  who  are  for  the  first  time  brought 
into  contact  with  civilized  men  ;  who  have  no  notion  of  what  they  mean 
by  either  sovereignty  or  property  in  land ;  who  do  not  even  know  what 
cultivation  is;  with  whom  it  is  difficult  to  communicate,  even  upon  visible 
objects ;  the  American  plenipotentiary  thinks  that  he  may  abstain  from 
making  any  remarks. 

Whilst  supporting  their  claim  by  arguments,  which  they  think  conclu- 
sive, the  United  States  have  not  been  inattentive  to  the  counter  claims  of 
Great  Britain. 

They,  indeed,  deny  that  the  trading  posts  of  the  North-West  Company 
give  any  title  to  the  territory  claimed  by  America,  not  only  because  no 
such  post  was  established  within  the  limits  claime<'  when  the  first  Ameri- 
can settlement  was  made,  but  because  the  title  of  the  United  States  is  con- 
sidered as  having  been  complete,  before  any  of  those  traders  had  appeared 
on  the  waters  of  the  Columbia.  It  is  also  believed,  that  mere  factories, 
established  solely  for  the  purpose  of  trafficking  with  the  natives,  and  with- 
out any  view  to  cultivation  and  permanent  settlement,  cannot,  of  them- 
selves, and  unsupported  by  any  other  consideration,  give  any  better  title  to 
dominion  and  absolute  sovereignty,  than  similar  establishments  made  in  a 
civilized  country. 

But  the  United  States  have  paid  due  regard  to  the  discoveries  by 
which  the  British  navigators  have  so  eminently  distinguished  themselves, 
to  those,  perhaps  not  less  remarkable,  made  by  land  from  the  upper 
lakes  of  the  Pacific,  and  to  the  contiguity  of  the  possessions  of  Great 


rmoori  and  iixuitrationb. 


Britain,  on  the  witera  of  Hudson's  Bay,  to  the  territory  bordering  on  that 
ocenn.  Above  all,  they  have  been  earnestly  desirous  to  preserve  and 
oherish,  not  only  the  peaceful,  but  the  friendly  relations,  which  happily 
aubtist  between  the  two  countries.  And,  with  that  object  in  view,  their 
offer  of  a  permanent  line  of  demarkation  has  been  made,  under  a  perfect 
conviction  that  it  was  attended  with  the  sacrifice  of  a  portion  of  what  they 
nicht  justly  claim. 

Viewed  as  a  matter  of  mutual  convenience,  and  with  equal  desire,  on 
both  sides,  to  avert,  by  a  definitive  line  of  delimitation,  any  possible  cause 
of  collision  in  that  quarter,  every  consideration  connected  with  the  sub- 
ject may  be  allowed  its  due  weight. 

If  the  present  state  of.  occupancy  is  urged,  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  the  probability  of  the  manner  in  which  the  territory  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  must  be  settled,  belongs  also  essentially  to  the  subject. 
Under  whatever  nominal  sovereignty  that  country  may  be  placed,  and 
whatever  its  ultimate  destinies  may  be,  it  is  nearly  reduced  to  a  certainty, 
that  it  will  be  almost  exclusively  peopled  by  the  surplus  population  of 
the  United  States.  The  distance  from  Great  Britain,  and  the  expense  in- 
cident to  emigration,  forbid  the  expectation  of  any  being  practicable, 
from  that  quarter,  but  on  a  comparatively  small  scale.  Allowing  the  rate 
of  increase  to  be  the  same  in  the  United  States,  and  in  the  North  Ameri- 
can British  possessions,  the  difference  in  the  actual  population  of  both  is 
luch,  that  the  progressive  rate  which  would,  within  forty  years,  add  three 
millions  to  these,  would,  within  the  same  time,  give  a  positive  increase  of 
more  than  twenty  millions  to  the  United  States.  And  if  circumstances, 
arising  from  localities  and  habits,  have  given  superior  facilities  to  British 
aubjects,  of  extending  their  commerce  with  the  natives,  and  to  that  expan- 
sion which  has  the  appearance,  and  the  appearance  only,  of  occupancy,  — 
the  slower  but  sure  progress  and  extension  of  an  agricultural  population, 
will  be  regulated  by  distance,  by  natural  obstacles,  and  by  its  own  amount. 
The  primitive  right  of  acquiring  property  and  sovereignty,  by  occupancy 
alone,  admitting  it  to  be  unlimited  in  theory,  cannot  extend  beyond  the 
capacity  of  occupying  and  cultivating  the  soil. 

It  may  also  be  observed,  that,  in  reality,  there  were  but  three  na- 
tions which  had  both  the  right  and  the  power  to  colonize  the  territory 
in  question  —  Great  Britain,  the  United  States,  and  Spain,  or  now  the 
new  American  states.  These  are  now  excluded,  in  consequence  of  the 
treaty  of  1810.  The  United  States,  who  have  purchased  their  right  for  a 
valuable  consideration,  stand  now  in  their  place,  and,  on  that  ground,  in 
the  view  entertained  of  the  subject  by  the  British  government,  are,  on  a 
final  partition  of  the  country,  fairly  entitled  to  two  shares. 

Under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  as  stated  on  both  sides,  the 
United  States  offer  a  line,  which  leaves  to  Great  Britain  by  far  the  best 

Eortion  of  the  fur  trade,  —  the  only  object,  at  this  time,  of  the  pursuitis  of 
er  subjects  in  that  quarter,  —  and  a  much  greater  than  her  proportionate 
share  of  the  country,  with  a  view  to  its  permanent  settlement,  if  the  rela- 
tive geographical  situation,  and  means  of  colonizing,  of  both  parties  are 
taken  into  consideration.  From  the  42d  degree  of  north  latitude  to 
the  Observatory  Inlet,  in  about  55°  30',  there  is  a  front  on  the  Pacific 
of  almost  fourteen  degrees  of  latitude,  which  the  49th  parallel  divides 
into  two  nearly  equal  parts.     The  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  if 


PROOrS   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


465 


accepted  as  a  boundary,  would  leave  less  than  one  third  to  the  United 
States. 

The  oifer  or  the  free  navigation  of  that  river,  when  the  whole  territory, 
drained  by  all  its  tributary  streams,  including  the  northernmost  branches, 
might  have  been  justly  claimed,  would  have  also  given  to  Great  Britain, 
in  time  of  peace,  all  the  commercial  advantages  which  it  can  afford  to 
the  Americans. 

In  the  case  of  a  war,  (which  God  forbid,)  whatever  might  be  the  result 
on  shore,  the  line  proposed  by  Great  Britain,  even  with  the  addition  of 
the  detached  and  defenceless  territory  she  offered,  would  leave  the  sea 
border  at  her  mercy,  and  the  United  States  without  a  single  port ;  whilst 
the  boundary  proposed  by  them  might,  during  that  period,  deprive  Great 
Britain  only  of  the  use  of  the  port  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and 
would  leave  her  In  the  secure  possession  of  numerous  seaports,  perhaps  less 
convenient,  but  still  affording  ample  means  of  communication  with  the 
interior.  That  line,  indeed,  with  such  slight  reciprocal  modifications  as 
the  topography  of  the  country  may  indicate,  would  establish  the  most 
natural  and  mutually-defensible  boundary  that  can  be  found,  and,  for  that 
reason,  the  least  liable  to  collision,  and  the  best  calculated  to  perpetuate 
peace  and  harmony  between  the  two  powers. 


I. 


I  ' 


DOCITMENTS   RELATING   TO  THE   HuDSON's   BaT   CoMPANT. 


na- 


This  company  was  incorporated  by  a  charter  from  King  Charles  11. 
of  England,  issued  on  the  2nd  of  May,  1670 ;  a  few  extracts  from  which 
will  be  sufficient  to  show  the  powers  of  the  company  and  the  extent  of  its 
territories  under  that  grant. 


(10 


nate 

rela- 

are 

to 
eific 
ides 

if 


His  Majesty* s  Royal  Charter  to  tlie  Governor  and  Company  of  Huc^ 

son's  Bay. 

"  Charles  the  Second,  by  the  grace  of  God,  king  of  England,  &c.,  to 
all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come.  Greeting :  Whereas  our  dearly 
beloved  cousin.  Prince  Rupert  [and  seventeen  others,  whose  names  and 
titles  follow]  have,  at  their  own  great  cost  and  charges,  undertaken  an  ex- 
pedition for  Hudson's  Bay,  in  the  north-west  parts  of  America,  for  the  dis- 
covery of  a  new  passage  into  the  South  Sea,  and  for  the  finding  of  some 
trade  for  furs,  minerals,  and  other  considerable  commodities ;  and  by  such 
their  undertaking  have  already  made  such  discoveries  as  do  encourage  them 
to  proceed  farther  in  performance  of  their  said  design,  by  means  whereof 
there  may  probably  arise  great  advantage  to  us  and  our  kingdoms ;  and 
59 


466 


PROOrS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


whereas  the  said  undertakers,  for  their  further  encouragement  in  the  said 
design,  have  humbly  besought  us  to  incorporate  them,  and  to  grant  unto 
them  and  their  successors  the  whole  trade  and  commerce  of  all  those 
seas,  straits  and  bays,  rivers,  lakes,  creeks  and  sounds,  in  whatsoever  lati> 
tude  they  shall  be,  that  lie  within  the  entrance  of  the  straits  commonly 
called  Hudson's  Straits,  together  with  all  the  lands,  countries,  and  terri- 
tories, upon  the  coasts  and  confines  of  the  seas,  straits,  bays,  lakes,  rivers, 
creeks,  and  sounds,  aforesaid,  which  are  not  now  actually  possessed  by 
any  of  our  subjects,  or  by  the  subjects  of  any  other  Christian  prince 
or  state;  — 

"  Now,  know  ye,  that  we,  being  desirous  to  promote  all  endeavors  that 
may  tend  to  the  public  good  of  our  people,  and  to  encourage  the  said 
undertaking,  have,  of  our  especial  grace,  certain  knowledge,  and  mere 
motion,  given,  granted,  ratified,  and  confirmed,  and  by  these  presents,  for 
us  and  our  successors,  do  give,  grant,  ratify,  and  confirm,  unto  our  said 
cousin,  Prince  Rupert,  &c.,  that  they  and  such  others  as  shall  be  ad- 
mitted into  the  said  society,  as  is  hereafter  expressed,  shall  be  one  body 
corporate  and  politic,  in  deed  and  in  name,  by  the  name  of  Tfie  Governor 
and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay, 
*  *  *  and  at  all  times  hereafter,  shall  be  personable,  and  capable  in 
law,  to  have,  purchase,  receive,  possess,  enjoy,  and  retain  lands,  rents, 
privileges,  liberties,  jurisdiction,  franchises,  and  hereditaments,  of  what 
kind,  nature,  or  quaJity  soever  they  be,  to  them  and  their  successors." 

By  succeeding  sections  of  the  charter,  provisions  are  made — for  the 
election  of  a  governor,  a  deputy  governor,  and  a  committee  of  seven 
members,  who  are  to  have  the  direction  of  all  voyages,  sales,  and  other 
business  of  the  company  —  for  the  election  of  new  members  —  and  for 
holding,  at  particular  periods,  a  general  court  of  the  company.  The 
first  company  and  their  successors  are  made  lords  proprietors  of  the 
territories  above  mentioned,  holding  the  lands  "  in  free  and  common 
socage,  and  not  incapite,  or  by  knights'  service;"  and  they  are  em> 
powered  to  make  all  laws  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  their 
possessions,  which  may  "  be  reasonable,  and  not  contrary  or  repugnant, 
but  as  near  as  may  be  agreeable,  to  the  laws,  statutes,  and  customs,"  of 
England.  The  whole  trade,  fishery,  navigation,  minerals,  &c.,  of  the 
countries,  is  granted  to  the  company  exclusively ;  all  others  of  the  king's 
subjects  being  forbidden  to  "  visit,  haunt,  frequent,  trade,  traffic,  or 
adventure,"  therein,  under  heavy  penalties;  and  the  company  is  more- 
over empowered  "  to  send  ships,  and  to  build  fortifications,  for  the  de- 
fence of  its  possessions,  as  well  as  to  make  war  or  peace  with  all  nations 
or  people,  not  Christian,  inhabiting  those  territories,  which  are  declared 
to  be  thenceforth  "  reckoned  and  reputed  as  one  of  his  majesty's  plan- 
tations or  colonies,  in  America,  called  Rupert's  Land." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen,  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  possessed  by  its 
charter  almost  sovereign  powers  over  the  vast  portion  of  America  drained 
by  streams  entering  Hudson's  Bay.  With  regard  to  the  other  countries 
in  British  America,  north  and  west  of  Canada,  not  included  in  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company's  possessions,  and  which  were  termed,  generally,  the 
Indian  countries,  an  act  was  passed  on  the  llth  of  August,  1803,  in  the 
43d  year  of  the  reign  of  King  George  HI.,  entitled, 


^l 


PSOOri   AND   ILLUtTRATlONS. 


467 


(2.) 

*'  An  Act  for  extending  the  Jurisdiction  of  the  Courts  of  Justice  in  the 
Provinces  of  Loirer  and  Upper  Canada  to  the  Trial  and  Punishment 
of  Pi  '■'ions  guilty  of  Crimea  and  Offences  within  certean  Parts  of 
North  America,  adjoining  to  the  said  Provinces." 

By  this  act,  oflences  committed  within  the  Indinn  territories  were  to 
be  tried  in  the  same  manner  as  if  cummitted  within  the  provinces  of 
Lower  and  Upper  Canada ;  the  governor  of  Lower  Canada  may  em- 
power persons  to  act  as  justices  of  the  peace  for  the  Indian  territories, 
for  committing  offenders  until  they  are  conveyed  to  Canada  for  trial,  &c. 
This  act  remained  iu  force  until  July  2d,  1821   when  was  passed, 


(3.) 

*'  An  Act  for  regulating  the  Fur  Trade,  and  establishing  a  Crimined  emd 
Civil  Jurisdiction,  within  certain  Parts  of  North  America.* 

"  Whereas  the  competition  in  the  fur  trade  between  the  Governor  ana 
Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  and  cer- 
tain associations  of  persons  trading  under  the  name  of  '  The  North- West 
Company  of  Montreal,'  has  been  found,  for  some  years  past,  to  be  pro- 
ductive of  great  inconvenience  and  loss,  not  only  to  the  said  company  and 
associations,  but  to  the  said  trade  in  general,  and  also  of  great  injury  to 
the  native  Indians,  and  of  other  persons,  subjects  of  his  majesty  :  And 
whereas  the  animosities  and  feuds  arising  from  such  competition  have 
also,  for  some  years  past,  kept  the  interior  of  America,  to  the  northward 
and  westward  of  the  provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  and  of  the 
territories  of  the  United  States  o(  Americn,  in  a  state  of  continued  disturb- 
ance :  And  whereas  many  breaches  of  the  peace,  and  violence,  extending 
to  the  loss  of  lives,  and  considerable  destruction  of  property  have  continu- 
ally occurred  therein :  And  whereas,  for  remedy  of  such  evils,  it  is  expe- 
dient and  necessary  that  some  more  effectual  regulations  should  be  estab- 
lished for  the  apprehending,  securing,  and  bringing  to  justice,  all  persons 
committing  such  offences,  and  that  his  majesty  should  be  empowered 
to  regulate  the  said  trade  :  And  whereas  doubts  have  been  entertained, 
whether  the  provisions  of  an  act  passed  in  the  forty-third  year  of  the  reign 
of  his  late  majesty.  King  George  the  Third,  intituled  <An  Act  for  extend- 
ing the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  justice  in  the  provinces  of  Lower  and 
'  Upper  Canada  to  the  trial  and  punishment  of  persons  guilty  of  crimes  and 
offences  within  certain  parts  of  North  America,  adjoining  to  the  said  prov- 
inces,' extended  to  the  territories  granted  by  charter  to  the  said  governor 
and  company  ;  and  it  is  expedient  that  such  doubts  should  be  removed, 
and  that  the  said  act  should  be  further  extended :  Be  it  therefore 
enacted,  by  the  king's  most  excellent  majesty,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  lords  spiritual  and  temporal,  and  commons,  in  this  present 
Parliament  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same.  That,  from  and 

•  See  p.  325. 


46^ 


PHOOrs   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


[i 


aAer  the  passing  of  this  act,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  his  majesty,  bis  heirs  or 
successors,  to  make  grants  or  give  his  royal  license,  under  the  hand  and 
seal  of  one  of  his  majesty's  principal  secretaries  of  state,  to  any  body  cor- 
porate or  company,  or  person  or  persons,  of  or  for  the  exclusive  privilege 
of  trading  with  the  Indians  in  all  such  parts  of  North  America  as  shall  be 
specified  in  any  such  grants  or  licenses  respectively,  not  being  part  of 
tfie  lands  or  territories  heretofore  granted  to  the  said  Governor  and  Com- 
pany of  Adventurers  of  England  trading  to  Hudson's  Bay,  and  not  being 
part  of  any  of  his  majesty's  provinces  in  North  America,  or  of  any  lands 
or  territories  belonging  to  the  United  States  of  America ;  and  all  such 
grants  and  licenses  shdl  be  good,  valid,  and  effectual,  for  the  purpose  of 
securing  to  all  such  bodies  corporate,  or  companies,  or  persons,  the  sole 
and  exclusive  privilege  of  trading  with  the  Indians  in  all  such  parts  of 
North  America,  (except  as  hereinafter  excepted,)  as  shall  be  specified  in 
such  grants  or  licenses,  any  thing  contained  in  any  act  or  acts  of  Parlia- 
ment, or  any  law,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

"  II.  Provided  always,  and  be  it  further  enacted.  That  no  such  grant 
or  license,  made  or  given  by  his  majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  of  any 
such  exclusive  privileges  of  trading  with  the  Indians  in  such  parts  of 
North  America  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  made  or  given  for  any  longer  period 
than  twenty-one  years ;  and  no  rent  shall  be  required  or  demanded  for  or 
in  respect  of  any  such  grant  or  license,  or  any  privileges  given  thereby 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  for  the  first  period  of  twenty-one  years  ; 
and  from  and  af\er  the  expiration  of  such  first  period  of  twenty-one  years, 
it  shall  be  lawful  for  his  majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  to  reserve  such 
rents  in  any  future  grants  or  licenses  to  be  made  to  the  same  or  any  other 
parties,  as  shall  be  deemed  just  and  reasonable,  with  security  for  the  pay- 
ment thereof;  and  such  rents  shall  be  deemed  part  of  the  land  revenues 
of  his  majesty,  his  heirs  and  successors,  and  be  applied  and  accounted  for 
as  the  other  land  revenues  of  his  majesty,  his  heirs  or  successors,  shall, 
at  the  time  of  payment  of  any  such  rent  being  made,  be  applied  and  ac- 
counted for. 

"  III.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  from  and  after  the  passing  of 
this  act,  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  trading  to  Hudson's 
Bay,  and  every  body  corporate,  and  company,  and  person,  to  whom  every 
such  grant  or  license  shall  be  made  or  given,  as  aforesaid,  shall  respec- 
tively keep  accurate  registers  of  all  persons  in  their  employ  in  any  parts 
of  North  America,  and  shall,  once  in  each  year,  return  to  his  majesty's  sec- 
retaries of  state  accurate  duplicates  of  such  registers,  and  shall  also  enter 
itito  such  security  as  shall  be  required  by  his  majesty  for  the  due  execu- 
tion of  all  processes,  criminal  and  civil,  as  well  within  the  territories 
included  in  any  such  grant,  as  within  those  granted  by  charter  to  the 
Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  trading  to  Hudson's  Bay,  and  for 
the  producing  or  delivering  into  safe  custody,  for  purpose  of  trial,  of  all 
persons  in  their  employ  or  acting  under  their  authority,  who  shall  be 
charged  with  any  criminal  offence,  and  also  for  the  due  anH  faithful 
observance  of  all  such  rules,  regulations,  and  stipulations,  as  shall  be  con- 
tained in  any  such  grant  or  license,  either  for  diminishing  or  preventing 
the  sale  or  distribution  of  spirituous  liquors  to  the  Indians,  or  for  pro- 
moting their  moral  and  religious  improvement,  or  for  any  other  object 
which  his  majesty  may  deem  necessary  for  the  remedy  or  prevention  of 
the  other  evils  which  have  hitherto  been  found-  to  exist. 


i] 


PROOFS    AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


469 


of 


"  rv.  And  wher^aiB,  by  a  convention  entered  into  between  hit  majesty 
and  the  United  States  of  America,  it  was  stipulated  and  agreed  that  any 
country  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America  to  the  westward  of  the  Stony 
Mountains,  should  be  free  and  open  to  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  the 
two  powers,  for  the  term  of  ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  signature  of 
that  convention  ;  Be  it  therefore  enacted,  That  nothing  in  this  act  con- 
tained shall  be  deemed  or  construed  to  authorize  any  body  corporate, 
company,  or  person,  to  whom  his  majesty  may  have,  under  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  made  a  grant  or  given  a  license  of  exclusive  trade  with  the 
Indians  in  such  parts  o{  North  America  as  aforesaid,  to  claim  or  exercise 
any  such  exclusive  trade  within  the  limits  specified  in  the  said  article,  to 
the  prejudice  or  exclusion  of  any  citizens  of  the  said  United  States  of 
America,  who  may  be  engaged  in  the  said  trade  :  Provided  always,  that 
no  British  subject  shall  trade  with  the  Indians  within  such  limits  without 
such  grant  or  license  as  is  by  this  act  required. 

"  V.  And  be  it  declared  and  enacted.  That  the  said  act,  passed  in  the 
forty-third  year  of  the  reign  of  his  late  majesty,  intituled  An  Act  for  ex- 
tending the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of  justice  in  the  provinces  q/"  Lower 
and  Upper  Canada,  to  the  trial  and  punishment  of  persons  guilty  of  crimes 
and  offences  within  certain  parts  of  North  America  adjoining  to  the  said 
provinces,  and  all  the  clauses  and  provisoes  therein  contained,  shall  be 
deemed  and  construed,  and  it  is  and  are  hereby  respectively  declared,  to 
extend  to  and  over,  and  to  be  in  full  force  in  and  through,  all  the  territo- 
ries heretofore  granted  to  the  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading 
to  Hudson's  Bay ;  any  thing  in  any  act  or  acts  of  Parliament,  or  this  act, 
or  in  any  grant  or  charter  to  the  company,  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

*'  VI.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That,  from  and  after  the  passing  of 
this  act,  the  courts  of  judicature  now  existing,  or  which  may  be  hereafter 
established  in  the  province  of  Upper  Canada,  shall  have  the  same  civil 
jurisdiction,  power,  and  authority,  as  well  in  the  cognizance  of  suits  as  in 
the  issuing  process,  mesne  and  final,  and  in  all  other  respects  whatsoever, 
within  the  said  Indian  territories,  and  other  parts  of  America  not  within 
the  limits  of  either  of  the  provinces  of  Lower  or  Upper  Canada,  or  of  any 
civil  government  of  the  United  States,  as  the  said  courts  have  or  are 
invested  with  within  the  limits  of  the  said  provinces  of  Lower  or  Upper 
Canada  respectively ;  and  that  all  and  every  contract,  agreement,  debt, 
liability,  and  demand  whatsoever,  made,  entered  into,  incurred,  or  arising 
within  the  said  Indian  territories  and  other  parts  of  America,  and  all  and 
every  wrong  and  injury  to  the  person,  or  to  property,  real  or  personal,  com- 
mitted or  done  within  the  same,  shall  be,  and  be  deemed  to  be,  of  the  same 
nature,  and  be  cognizable  by  the  same  courts,  magistrates,  or  justices  of  the 
peace,  and  be  tried  iu  the  same  manner,  and  subject  to  the  same  conse- 
quences, in  all  respects,  as  if  the  same  had  been  made,  entered  into,  incurred, 
arisen,  committed,  or  done,  within  the  said  province  of  Upper  Canada ;  any 
thing  in  any  act  or  acts  of  Parliament,  or  grant,  or  charter,  to  the  contrary 
notwithstanding :  Provided  always,  that  all  such  suits  and  actions  relating 
to  lands,  or  to  any  claims  in  respect  of  land,  not  being  within  the  province 
of  Upper  Canada,  shall  be  decided  according  to  the  laws  of  that  part  of 
the  United  Kingdom  called  England,  and  shall  not  be  subject  to  or  affected 
by  any  local  acts,  statutes,  or  laws,  of  the  legislature  of  Upper  Canada. 

"  VII.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  all  process,  writs,  orders,  judg- 
ments, decrees,  and  acta  whatsoever,  to  be  issued,  made,  delivered,  given, 
and  done,  by  or  under  the  authority  of  the  said  courts,  or  either  of  them, 


470 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


|i 


shall  have  toe  same  force,  authority,  and  effect,  within  the  said  Indian 
territory  and  other  parts  of  America  as  aforesaid,  as  the  same  now  have 
within  the  said  province  of  Upper  Canada. 

"  VIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  gov- 
ernor, or  lieutenant-governor,  or  person  administering  the  government 
for  the  time  being,  of  Lower  Canada,  by  commission  under  his  hand  and 
seal,  to  authorize  all  persons  who  shall  be  appointed  justices  of  the  peace 
under  the  provisions  of  .his  act,  within  the  said  Indian  territories,  or  other 
parts  of  America  as  aforesaid,  or  any  other  person  who  shall  be  specially 
named  in  any  such  commission,  to  act  as  a  commissioner  within  the  same, 
for  the  purpose  of  executing,  enforcing,  and  carrying  into  effect,  all  such 
process,  writs,  orders,  judgments,  decrees,  and  acts,  whicli  shall  be  issued, 
made,  delivered,  given,  or  done,  by  the  said  courts  of  judicature,  and  which 
may  require  to  be  enforced  and  executed  within  the  said  Indian  territo- 
ries, or  such  other  parts  of  North  America  as  aforesaid;  and  in  case  any 
person  or  persons  whatsoever,  residing  or  being  within  the  said  Indian 
territories,  or  such  other  parts  of  America  as  aforesaid,  shall  refuse  to 
obey  or  perform  any  such  process,  writ,  order,  judgment,  decree,  or  act, 
of  the  said  courts,  or  shall  resist  or  oppose  the  execution  thereof,  it  shall 
and  may  be  lawful  for  the  said  justices  of  the  peace  or  commissioners, 
and  they,  or  any  of  them,  are,  and  is,  hereby  required,  on  the  same  being 
proved  before  him,  by  the  oath  or  affidavit  of  one  credible  witness,  to 
commit  the  said  person  or  persons  so  offending  as  aforesaid  to  custody, 
in  order  to  his  or  their  being  conveyed  to  Upper  Canada ;  and  that  it 
shall  be  lawful  for  any  such  justice  of  the  peace  or  commissioner,  or  'any 
person  or  persons  acting  under  his  authority,  to  convey,  or  cause  to  be 
conveyed,  such  person  or  persons  so  offending  as  aforesaid  to  Upper  Can' 
ada,  in  pursuance  of  such  process,  writ,  order,  decree,  judgment,  or  act ; 
and  such  person  and  persons  shall  be  committed  to  jail  by  the  said  court, 
on  his,  her,  or  their  being  so  brought  into  the  said  province  of  Upper 
Canada,  by  which  such  process,  writ,  order,  decree,  judgment,  or  act,  was 
issued,  made,  delivered,  given,  or  done,  until  a  final  judgment  or  decree 
shall  have  been  pronounced  in  such  suit,  and  shall  have  been  duly  per- 
formed, and  all  costs  paid,  in  case  such  person  or  persons  shall  be  a  party 
or  parties  in  such  suit,  or  until  the  trial  of  such  suit  shall  have  been  con- 
cluded, in  case  such  person  or  persons  shall  be  a  witness  or  witnesses 
therein :  Provided  always,  that,  if  any  person  or  persons,  so  apprehended  as 
aforesaid,  shall  enter  into  a  bond  recognizance  to  any  such  justice  of  the 
peace  or  commissioner,  with  two  sufficient  sureties,  to  the  satisfaction  of 
such  justice  of  the  peace  or  commissioner,  or  the  said  courts,  conditioned 
to  obey  and  perform  such  process,  writ,  order,  judgment,  decree,  or  act,  as 
aforesaid,  then  and  in  such  case  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  said 
justice  of  the  peace  or  commissioner,  or  the  said  courts,  to  discharge 
such  person  or  persons  out  of  custody. 

"  IX.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That,  in  case  such  person  or  persons 
shall  not  perform  and  fulfil  the  condition  or  conditions  of  such  recogni- 
zance, then  and  in  such  case  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  such 
justice  or  commissioner,  and  he  is  hereby  required,  to  assign  such  recog- 
nizance to  the  plaintiff  or  plaintiffs,  in  any  suit  in  which  such  process, 
writ,  order,  decree,  judgment,  or  act,  shall  have  been  issued,  made,  deliv- 
ered, given,  or  done,  who  may  maintain  an  action  in  the  said  courts  in  his 
own  name  against  the  said  sureties,  and  recover  against  such  sureties  the 
full  amount  of  such  loss  or  damage  as  such  plaintiff  shall  prove  to  have 


PROOFS    AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


471 


been  sustained  by  him,  by  reason  of  the  original  cause  of  action  in  respect 
of  which  such  process,  writ,,  order,  decree,  judgment,  or  act,  of  the  said 
courts  were  issued,  made,  delivered,  given,  or  done,  as  aforesaid,  notwith- 
standing any  thing  contained  in  any  charter  granted  to  the  said  Governor 
and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading  to  Hudson's  Bay. 

"  X.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  lawful  for  his  majesty, 
if  he  shall  deem  it  convenient  so  to  do,  to  issue  e  commission  or  com- 
missions to  any  person  or  persons  to  be  and  act  as  justices  of  the  peace 
within  such  parts  of  America  as  aforesaid,  as  well  within  any  territories 
heretofore  granted  to  the  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading  to 
Hudson's  Bay,  as  within  the  Indian  territories  of  such  other  parts  of 
America  as  aforesaid ;  and  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  court  in  the  province 
of  Upper  Canada,  in  any  case  in  which  it  shall  appear  expedient  to  have 
any  evidence  taken  by  commission,  or  any  facts  or  issue,  or  any  cause  or 
suit,  ascertained,  to  issue  a  commission  to  any  three  or  more  of  such  jus- 
tices to  take  such  evidence,  and  return  the  same,  or  try  such  issue,  and 
for  that  purpose  to  hold  courts,  and  to  issue  subpoenas  or  other  processes 
to  compel  attendance  of  plaintiffs,  defendants,  jurors,  witnesses,  and  all 
other  persons  requisite  and  essential  to  the  execution  of  the  several  pur- 
poses for  which  such  commission  or  commissions  had  issued,  and  with 
the  like  power  and  authority  as  are  vested  in  the  courts  of  the  said 
province  of  Upper  Canada;  and  any  order,  verdict,  judgment,  or  decree, 
that  shall  be  made,  found,  declared,  or  published,  by  or  before  any  court 
or  courts  held  under  and  by  virtue  of  such  commission  or  commissions, 
shall  be  considered  to  be  of  as  full  effect,  and  enforced  in  like  manner,  as 
if  the  same  had  been  made,  found,  declared,  or  published,  within  the  juris- 
diction of  the  court  of  the  said  province ;  and  at  the  time  of  issuing  such 
commission  or  commissions  shall  be  declared  the  place  or  places  where 
such  commission  is  to  be  opened,  and  the  courts  and  proceedings  there- 
under held ;  and  it  shall  be  at  the  same  time  provided  how  and  by  what 
means  the  expenses  of  such  commission,  and  the  execution  thereof,  shall 
be  raised  and  provided  for. 

"  XI.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  be  lawful  for  his  majesty, 
notwithstanding  any  thing  contained  in  this  act,  or  in  any  charter  granted 
to  the  said  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England  trading  to 
Hudson's  Bay,  from  time  to  time,  by  any  commission  under  the  great 
seal,  to  authorize  and  empower  any  such  persons  so  appointed  justices  of 
the  peace  as  aforesaid,  to  sit  and  hold  courts  of  record  for  the  trial  of 
criminal  offences  and  misdemeanors,  and  also  of  civil  causes ;  and  it  shall 
be  lawful  for  his  majesty  to  order,  direct,  and  authorize,  the  appointment 
of  proper  officers  to  act  in  aid  of  such  courts  and  justices  within  the  juris- 
diction assigned  to  such  courts  and  justices,  in  any  such  commission ; 
any  thing  in  this  act,  or  in  any  charter  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of 
Merchant  Adventurers  of  England  trading  to  Hudson's  Bay,  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding. 

"  XII.  Provided  dways,  and  be  it  further  enacted.  That  such  courts 
shall  be  constituted,  as  to  the  number  of  justices  to  preside  therein,  and 
as  to  such  places  within  the  said  territories  of  the  said  company,  or  any 
Indian  territories,  or  other  parts  of  North  America  as  aforesaid,  and  the 
times  and  manner  of  holding  the  same,  as  his  majesty  shall  from  time  to 
time  order  and  direct ;  but  shall  not  try  any  offender  upon  any  charge 
or  indictment  for  any  felony  made  the  subject  of  capital  punishment,  or 


472 


PBOOFS    AND   UiLUSTRATIOMS. 


U 


for  any  offence,  or  passing  sentence  affecting  the  life  of  any  offender,  or 
tdjudge  or  cause  any  o&nder  to  suffer  capital  punishment  or  transporta- 
tion, or  take  cognizance  of  or  try  any  civil  action  or  suit,  in  which  the 
cause  of  such  suit  or  action  shall  exceed  in  value  the  amount  or  sum  of 
two  hundred  pounds ;  and  in  every  case  of  any  offence  subjecting  the  per- 
son committing  the  same  to  capital  punishment  or  transportation,  the 
court  or  any  judge  of  any  such  court,  or  any  justice  or  justices  of  the 
peace,  before  whom  any  such  offender  shall  be  brought,  shall  commit  such 
offender  to  safe  custody,  and  cause  such  offender  to  be  sent  in  such  custody 
for  trial  in  the  court  of  the  province  of  Upper  Cantida. 

"  XIII.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  all  judgments  given  in  any 
civil  suit  shall  be  subject  to  appeal  to  his  majesty  in  council,  in  like 
manner  as  in  other  cases  in  his  majesty's  province  of  Upper  Canada,  and 
also  in  any  case  in  which  the  right  or  title  to  any  land  shall  be  in 
question. 

"  XIV.  And  be  it  further  enacted.  That  nothing  in  this  act  contained 
shall  be  taken  or  construed  to  affect  any  right,  privilege,  authority,  or 
jurisdiction,  which  the  Governor  and  Company  of  Adventurers  trading  to 
Hudson's  Bay  are  l)y  law  entitled  to  claim  and  exercise  under  their 
charter ;  but  that  all  such  rights,  privileges,  authorities,  and  jurisdictions, 
shall  remain  in  as  full  force,  virtue,  and  effect,  as  if  this  act  had  never 
been  made ;   any  thing  in  this  act  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding." 


Shortly  before  the  passage  of  this  act,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was 
united  with  the  North- West  Company,  or  rather  the  latter  was  merged  in 
the  former;  and  on  the  21st  of  December,  1821,  the  king  made  a 


(4.) 


"  Chant  of  the  exclusive  Trade  with  the  Indians  of  North  America  to 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company" 

of  which  the  following  are  the  terms : —     .  • ,. 

"  And  whereas  the  said  Company  of  Adventurers  of  England,  trading 
into  Hudson's  Bay,  and  certain  associations  of  persons  trading  under  the 
name  of  the  North- West  Company  of  Montreal,  have  respectively  extended 
the  fur  trade  over  many  parts  of  North  America,  which  had  not  been 
before  explored :  And  whereas  the  competition  in  the  said  trade  has 
been  found,  for  some  years  past,  to  be  productive  of  great  inconvenience 
and  loss,  not  only  to  the  said  company  and  associations,  but  to  the  said 
trade  in  general,  and  Jso  of  great  injury  to  the  native  Indians,  and  of 
other  persons  our  subjects :  And  whereas  the  said  Governor  and  Company 
of  Adventurers  of  England,  trading  into  Hudson's  Bay,  and  William  Mc- 
Gillivray,  of  Montreal,  in  the  province  of  Lower  Canada,  Esquire,  Simon 
McGillivray,  of  Suffolk  Lane,  in  the  city  of  London,  merchant,  and  Edward 
EUice,  of  Spring  Gardens,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  Esquire,  have 
represented  to  us,  that  they  have  entered  into  an  agreement  on  the  26th 
day  of  March  last,  for  putting  an  end  to  the  said  competition,  and  carry- 


H 


PROOrS    AMfD   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


478 


any 
VI  c- 
lon 
ard 
ave 
6th 
fry- 


ing on  the  said  trade  for  twenty-one  years,  commencing  with  the  oatAt  of 
1^1,  and  ending  with  the  returns  of  1841,  to  be  carried  on  in  the  name 
of  the  said  Governor  and  Company  exclusively :  And  whereas  the  said 
Governor  and  Company,  and  W.  McGillivray,  S.  McGillivrayi  and  E. 
Ellice,  have  humbly  besought  us  to  make  a  grant,  and  give  our  royal 
license  to  them  jointly,  of  and  for  the  exclusive  privilege  of  trading  with 
the  Indians  in  North  America,  under  the  restrictions  and  upon  the  terms 
and  conditions  specified  in  the  said  recited  act :  — 

"  Nmo,  know  ye,  that  we,  being  desirous  of  encouraging  the  said  trade, 
and  remedying  the  evils  which  have  arisen  from  the  competition  which 
has  heretofore  existed  therein,  do  grant  and  give  our  royal  license,  under 
the  hand  and  seal  of  one  of  our  principal  secretaries  of  state,  to  the  said 
Governor  and  Company,  and  W.  McGillivray,  S.  McGillivray,  and  E,  El- 
lice, for  the  exclusive  privilege  of  trading  with  the  Indians,  in  all  such 
parts  of  North  America,  to  the  northward  and  westward  of  the  lands  und 
territories  belonging  to  the  United  States  of  America,  as  shall  not  form 
part  of  any  of  our  provinces  in  North  America,  or  of  any  lands  or  terri- 
tories  belonging  to  the  said  United  States  of  America,  or  to  any  European 
government,  state,  or  power;  and  we  do  by  these  presents  give,  grant, 
and  secure,  to  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  W.  McGillivray,  S. 
McGillivray,  and  E.  Ellice,  jointly,  the  sole  and  exclusive  privilege,  for 
the  full  period  of  twenty-one  years  from  the  date  of  this  our  grant,  of 
trading  with  the  Indians  in  all  such  parts  of  North  America  as  aforesaid, 
(except  as  thereinafter  excepted :)  And  we  do  hereby  declare  that  no  rent 
shall  be  required  or  demanded  for  or  in  respect  of  this  our  grant  and 
license,  or  any  privileges  given  thereby,  for  the  said  period  of  twenty-one 
years,  but  that  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  W.  McGillivray,  S. 
McGillivray,  and  E.  Ellice,  shall,  during  the  period  of  this  our  grant  and 
license,  keep  accurate  registers  of  all  persons  in  their  employ,  in  any  parts 
of  North  America,  and  shall  once  in  each  year  return  to  our  secretary 
of  state  accurate  duplicates  of  all  such  registers,  and  shall  also  enter  into 
and  give  security  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  in  the  penal  sum  of  five 
thousand  pounds,  for  insuring,  as  far  as  in  them  may  lie,  the  due  execu- 
tion of  all  the  criminal  processes,  and  of  any  civil  process,  in  anv  suit, 
where  the  matter  in  dispute  shall  exceed  two  hundred  pounds,  by  the 
officers  and  persons  legally  empowered  to  execute  such  processes,  within 
all  the  territories  included  in  this  our  grant,  and  for  the  producing  and 
delivering  into  safe  custody,  for  purposes  of  trial,  any  persons  in  their 
employ  or  acting  under  their  authority,  within  the  said  territories,  who 
may  be  charged  with  any  criminal  offence. 

"  And  we  do  hereby  require  that  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and 
W.  McGillivray,  S.  McGillivray,  and  E.  Ellice,  shall,  as  soon  as  the  same 
can  be  conveniently  done,  make  and  submit,  for  our  consideration  and 
approval,  such  rules  and  regulations  for  the  management  and  carrying  on 
the  said  fur  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  the  conduct  of  the  persons 
employed  by  them  therein,  as  may  appear  to  us  to  be  effectual,  for  gradu« 
ally  diminishing  or  ultimately  preventing  the  sale  and  distribution  of 
spirituous  liquors  to  the  Indians,  and  for  promoting  their  moral  and 
religious  improvement.  —  And  we  do  hereby  declare  that  nothing  in 
this  our  grant  contained  shall  be  deemed  or  construed  to  authorize  the 
said  Governor  and  Company,  or  W.  McGillivray,  S.  McGillivray,  and  E. 
Ellice,  or  any  person  in  their  employ,  to  claim  or  exercise  any  trade  with 
60 


m% 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


the  Indians  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  to  the  westward  of  the 
Stony  Mountains,  to  the  prejudice  or  exclusion  of  any  citizen  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  who  may  be  engaged  in  the  said  trade :  Pro- 
vided always,  that  no  British  subjects  other  than  and  except  the  said 
Governor  and  Company,  and  the  said  W.  McGillivray,  S.  McGillivray,  and 
E.  EJlice,  and  the  persons  authorized  to  carry  on  exclusive  trade  by  them 
on  grant,  shall  trade  with  the  Indians  within  such  limits,  during  the 
period  of  this  our  grant." 

Under  this  license,  the  parties  to  whom  it  was  granted  continued  their 
operations  until  1824,  when  the  claims  of  the  North- West  Company  were 
extinguished  by  mutual  conserit ;  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  then  became 
the  sole  possessor  of  the  privileges  conceded,  which  were  enjoyed  by  that 
body  until  the  expiration  of  the  grant.  Previous  to  that  period,  1838, 
a  new  grant  was  made  to  the  company,  entitled, 


s 


(6.) 


"  Croum  Grant  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  of  the  exclusive  Trade 
with  the  Indians  in  certain  Parts  of  North  America,  for  a  Term  of 
twenty-one  Years,  and  upon  Surrender  of  a  former  Grant," 

which,  after  recapitulating  the  terms  of  the  first  grant,  continues  thus : 

"  And  whereas  the  said  Governor  and  Company  have  acquired  to 
themselves  all  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  said  W.  McGillivray,  S. 
McGillivray,  and  E.  EUice,  under  the  said  recited  grant,  and  the  said 
Governor  and  Company  have  humbly  besought  us  to  accept  a  surrender 
of  the  said  grant,  and  in  consideration  thereof  to  make  a  grant  to  them, 
and  give  to  them  our  royal  license  and  authority  of  and  for  the  like 
exclusive  privilege  of  trading  with  the  Indians  in  North  America,  for  the 
like  period,  and  upon  similar  terms  and  conditions  to  those  specified  and 
referred  to  in  the  said  recited  grant :  Now,  know  ye,  that,  in  consideration 
of  the  surrender  made  to  us  of  the  said  recited  grant,  and  being  desirous 
of  encouraging  the  said  trade,  and  of  preventing  as  much  as  possible  a 
recurrence  of  the  evils  mentioned  or  referred  to  in  the  said  recited  grant, 
as  also  in  consideration  of  the  yearly  rent  hereinafter  reserved  to  us,  we 
do  hereby  grant  and  give  our  license,  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  one  of 
our  principal  secretaries  of  state,  to  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and 
their  successors,  for  the  exclusive  privilege  of  trading  with  the  Indians  in 
all  such  parts  of  North  America,  to  the  northward  and  to  the  westward 
of  the  lands  and  territories  belonging  to  the  United  States  of  America,  as 
shall  not  form  part  of  any  of  our  provinces  in  North  America,  or  of  any 
lands  or  territories  belonging  to  the  said  United  States  of  America,  or  to 
any  European  government,  state,  or  power,  but  subject,  nevertheless,  as 
hereinafter  mentioned :  And  we  do,  by  tl-.ii,se  ^.resents,  give,  grant,  and 
secure,  to  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  aiid  their  successors,  the  sole 
and  exclusive  privilege,  for  the  full  period  of  twenty-one  years  from  the 
date  of  this  our  grant,  of  trading  with  the  Indians  in  all  such  parts  of 
North  America  as  aforesaid,  (except  as  hereinafter  mentioned: )  And  we 


n 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


476 


as 
I  any 
Ir  to 

as 

land 

Isole 

the 

of 

we 


do  hereby  declare  that  no  rent  shall  be  required  or  demanded  for  or  in 
respect  of  this  our  grant  and  license,  or  any  privileges  given  thereby  for 
the  first  four  years  of  the  said  term  of  twenty-one  years ;  and  we  do  hereby 
reserve  to  ourselves,  our  heirs  and  successors,  for  the  remainder  of  the 
said  term  of  twenty-one  years,  the  yearly  rent  or  sum  of  five  shillings,  to  be 
paid  by  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  or  their  successors,  on  the  1st 
day  of  June,  in  every  year,  into  our  exchequer,  on  the  account  of  us,  our 
heirs  and  successors :  And  we  do  hereby  declare  that  the  said  Governor 
and  Company,  and  their  successors,  shall,  during  the  period  of  this  our 
grant  and  license,  keep  accurate  registers  of  all  persons  in  their  employ 
in  any  parts  of  North  America,  and  shall,  once  in  each  year,  return  to 
our  secretary  of  state  accurate  duplicates  of  such  registers ;  and  shall  also 
enter  into  and  give  security  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  in  the  penal 
sum  of  five  thousand  pounds,  for  insuring,  as  far  as  in  them  may  lie,  or  aa 
they  can  by  their  authority  over  the  servants  and  persons  in  their  employ, 
the  due  execution  of  all  criminal  and  civil  processes  by  the  officers  and 
persons  legally  empowered  to  execute  such  processes  within  all  the  terri- 
tories included  in  this  our  grant,  and  for  the  producing  or  delivering  into 
custody,  for  the  purposes  of  trial,  all  persons  in  their  employ  or  acting 
under  their  authority,  within  the  said  territories,  who  shall  be  charged  with 
any  criminal  offence :   And  we  do  also  hereby  require  that  the  said  Gov- 
ernor and  Company,  and  their  successors,  shall,  as  soon  as  the  same  can 
conveniently  be  done,  make  and  submit  for  our  consideration  and  approval, 
such  rules  and  regulations  for  the  management  and  carrying  on  the  said 
fur  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  the  conduct  of  the  persons  employed  by 
them  therein,  as  may  appear  to  us  to  be  effectual  for  diminishing  or  pre- 
venting the  sale  or  distribution  of  spirituous  liquors  to  the  Indians,  and 
for  promoting  their  moral  and  religious  improvement :  But  we  do  hereby 
declare  that  nothing  in  this  our  grant  contained  shall  be  deemed  or  con- 
strued to  authorize  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  or  their  successors, 
or  any  persons  in  their  employ,  to  claim  or  exercise  any  trade  with  the 
Indians   on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  to  the  westward  of  the 
Stony  Mountains,  to  the  prejudice  or  exclusion  of  any  of  the  subjects  of 
any  foreign  states,  who,  under  or  by  force  of  any  convention  for  the  time 
being,  between  us  and  such  foreign  states  respectively,  may  be  entitled  to, 
and  shall  be  engaged  in,  the  said  trade:  Provided,  nevertheless,  and  we 
do  hereby  declare  our  pleasure  to  be,  that  nothing  herein  contained  shall 
extend  or  be  construed  to  prevent  the  establishment  by  us,  our  heirs,  or 
successors,  within  the  territories  aforesaid,  or  any  of  them,  of  any  colony 
or  colonies,  province  or  provinces,  or  for  annexing  any  part  of  the  afore- 
said territories  to  any  Existing  colony  or  colonies  to  us  in  right  of  our 
imperial  crown  belonging,  or  for  constituting  any  such  form  of  civil 
government,  as  to  us   may  seem  meet,  within  any  such  colony  or  col- 
onies, or  provinces: 

"  And  we  do  hereby  reserve  to  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  full  power 
and  authority  to  revoke  these  presents,  or  any  part  thereof,  in  so  far  as 
the  same  may  embrace  or  extend  to  any  of  the  territories  aforesaid,  which 
may  hereafter  be  comprised  within  any  colony  or  colonies,  province  or 
provinces,  as  aforesaid: 

"  It  being,  nevertheless,  hereby  declared  that  no  British  subjects,  other 
than  and  except  the  said  Governor  and  Company,  and  their  successors, 
and  the  persons  authorized  to  carry  on  exclusive  trade  by  them,  shall 


476 


PROOFS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PL 


trade  with  the  Indians  during  the  period  of  this  oar  grant,  within  the 
limits  aforesaid,  or  within  that  part  thereof  which  shall  not  be  conH 
prised  within  any  such  colony  or  province  as  aforesaid." 


K. 


Tbeatizs   AMD    Contentions    relativk    to   the   North-Webt 
Territories   of   North   America.  m... 


Convention  between  Cheat  Britain  and  Spain,  {commonly  called  the 
Nootka  Treaty,)  signed  at  the  Escurial,  October  S8M,  1790. 

Article  1.  The  buildings  and  tracts  of  land  situated  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  the  continent  of  North  America,  or  on  the  islands  adjacent 
to  that  continent,  of  which  the  subjects  of  his  Britannic  majesty  were  dis- 
possessed about  the  month  of  April,  1789,  by  a  Spanish  officer,  shall  be 
restored  to  the  said  British  subjects. 

Art.  2.  A  just  reparation  shall  be  made,  according  to  the  nature  of 
the  case,  for  ail  acts  of  violence  or  hostility  which  may  have  been  com- 
mitted subsequent  to  the  month  of  April,  1789,  by  the  subjects  of  either 
of  the  contracting  parties  against  the  subjects  of  the  other ;  and,  in  case 
any  of  the  said  respective  subjects  shall,  since  the  same  period,  have  been 
forcibly  dispossessed  of  their  lands,  buildings,  vessels,  merchandise,  and 
other  property,  whatever,  on  the  said  continent,  or  on  the  seas  and  islands 
adjacent,  they  shall  be  reestablished  in  the  possession  thereof,  or  a  just  com- 
pensation shall  be  made  to  them  for  the  losses  which  they  have  sustained. 

Art.  3.  In  order  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  friendship,  and  to  pre- 
serve in  future  a  perfect  harmony  and  good  understanding,  between  the 
two  contracting  parties,  it  is  agreed  that  their  respective  subjects  shall  not 
be  disturbed  or  molested,  either  in  navigating,  or  carrying  on  their  fish- 
eries, in  the  Pacific  Ocean  or  in  the  South  Seas,  or  in  landing  on  the 
coasts  of  those  seas  in  places  not  already  occupied,  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  on  their  commerce  with  the  natives  of  the  country,  or  of  making 
settlements  there ;  the  whole  subject,  nevertheless,  to  the  restrictions 
specified  in  the  three  following  articles. 

Art.  4.  His  Britannic  majesty  engages  to  take  the  most  effectual 
measures  to  prevent  the  navigation  and  the  fishery  of  his  subjects  in  the 
Pacific  Ocean  or  in  the  South  Seas  from  being  made  a  pretext  for  illicit 
trade  with  the  Spanish  settlements ;  and,  with  this  view,  it  is  moreover 
expressly  stipulated  that  British  subjects  shall  not  navigate,  or  carry  on 
their  fishery,  in  the  said  seas,  within  the  space  of  ten  sea  leagues  from 
any  part  of  the  coasts  already  occupied  by  Spain. 

Art.  5.  As  well  in  the  places  which  are  to  be  restored  to  the  British 
subjects,  by  virtue  of  the  first  article,  as  in  all  other  parts  of  the  north- 


») 


PBOOIS    AND   ILLUSTKATIONI. 


477 


western  coasts  of  North  America,  or  of  the  islands  adjacent,  situate  to  the 
north  of  the  parts  of  the  said  coast  already  o.'  "pied  by  Spain,  wherever 
the  subjects  of  either  of  the  two  powers  shall  .  made  settlements  since 
the  month  of  April,  1789,  or  shall  hereafter  mme  any,  the  subjects  of  the 
other  shall  htre  free  access,  and  shall  carry  on  their  trade  without  any 
disturbance  or  molestation. 

Art.  6.  With  respect  to  the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of  South 
America,  and  to  the  islands  adjacent,  no  settlement  shall  be  formed  here* 
after  by  the  respective  subjects  in  such  part  of  those  coasts  as  are  situated 
to  the  south  of  those  parts  of  the  same  coasts,  and  of  the  islands  adjacent, 
which  are  already  occupied  by  Spain :  provided,  that  the  said  respective 
subjects  shall  retain  the  liberty  of  landing  on  the  coasts  and  islands  so 
situated  fur  the  purpose  of  their  fishery,  and  of  erecting  thereon  huts  and 
other  temporary  buildings  serving  only  for  those  purposes. 

Art.  7.  In  all  cases  of  complaint  or  infraction  of  the  articles  of  the 
present  convention,  the  officers  of  either  party,  without  permitting  them- 
selves to  commit  any  violence  or  act  of  force,  shall  be  bound  to  make 
an  exact  report  of  the  affair  and  of  its  circumstances  to  their  respective 
courts,  who  will  terminate  such  differences  in  an  amicable  manner. 


1  (2.) 

Convention  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  Great  Britain, 
signed  at  London,  October  20th,  1818. 

Article  2.  It  is  agreed  that  a  line  drawn  from  the  most  north-western 
point  of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  along  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
or,  if  the  said  point  shall  not  be  in  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  then 
that  a  line  drawn  from  the  said  point  due  north  or  south,  as  the  case  may 
be,  until  the  said  line  shall  intersect  the  said  parallel  of  north  latitude, 
and  from  the  point  of  such  intersection  due  west  along  and  with  the  said 

Barallel,  shall  be  the  line  of  deniarkation  between  the  territories  of  the 
'nited  States  and  those  of  his  Britannic  majesty  ;  and  that  the  said  line 
shall  form  the  northern  boundary  of  the  said  territories  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  southern  boundary  of  the  territories  of  his  Britannic 
majesty,  from  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  to  the  Stony  Mountains. 

Art.  3.  It  is  agreed  that  any  country  that  may  be  claimed  by  either 
party  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  westward  of  the  Stony  Moun- 
tains, shall,  together  with  its  harbors,  bays,  and  creeks,  and  the  naviga- 
tion of  all  rivers  within  the  same,  be  free  and  open  for  the  term  of 
ten  years  from  the  date  of  the  signature  of  the  present  convention,  to  the 
vessels,  citizens,  and  subjects,  of  the  two  powers ;  it  being  well  understood 
that  this  agreement  is  not  to  be  construed  to  the  prejudice  of  any  claim 
which  either  of  the  two  high  contracting  parties  may  have  to  any  part  of 
the  said  country,  nor  shall  it  be  taken  to  affect  the  claims  of  any  other 

Eower  or  state  to  any  part  of  the  said  country ;  the  only  object  of  the 
igh  contract'ng  parties,  in  that  respect,  being  to  prevent  disputes  and 
differences  among  themselves. 


% 


478 


PBOOVI   AMD  UXUSTIUTIONS. 


p. 


(3.) 

TVcirfy  (if  Amity,  Settlement,  and  Limitt,  between  the  United  States  and 
Spmn,  {commonly  called  the  Florida  Tbbaty,)  signed  at  Washing- 
ton, February  3iM,  1819. 

Articlb  3.  The  boundary  line  between  the  two  countries  west  of  the 
MiMitsippi  shall  begin  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  at  the  mouth  of  the  River 
Sabine,  in  the  sea,  continuing  north,  along  the  western  bank  of  that  river, 
to  the  33d  degree  of  latitude;  thence,  by  aline  due  north,  to  the  degree 
of  latitude  where  it  strikes  the  Rio  Roxo  of  Natchitoches,  or  Red  River ; 
then,  following  the  course  of  the  Rio  Roxo  westward,  to  the  degree  of 
longitude  )  00  west  from  London  and  23  from  Washington ;  then  crossing 
the  said  Red  River,  and  running  thence,  by  a  line  due  north,  to  the 
River  Arkansas ;  thence  following  the  course  of  the  southern  bank  of  the 
Arkansas,  to  its  source  in  latitude  42  north ;  and  thence,  by  that  parallel 
of  latitude,  to  the  South  Sea;  the  whole  being  as  laid  down  in  Melish's 
map  of  the  United  States,  published  at  Philadi^tphia,  improved  to  the  1st 
of  January,  181S.  But,  if  the  source  of  the  Arkansas  River  shall  be  found 
to  fall  north  or  south  of  latitude  42,  then  the  iiiio  shall  run  from  the  said 
source  due  south  or  north,  as  the  case  may  be.,  till  it  meets  the  said  par- 
allel of  latitude  42,  and  thence,  along  the  said  parallel,  to  the  South  Sea; 
all  the  islands  in  the  Sabine,  and  the  said  Red  and  Arkansas  Rivers, 
throughout  the  course  thus  described,  to  belong  to  the  United  States ;  but 
the  use  of  the  waters  and  the  navigation  of  the  Sabine  to  the  sea,  and  of 
the  said  Rivers  Roxo  and  Arkansas,  throughout  the  extent  of  the  said 
boundory,  on  their  respective  banks,  shall  be  commoji  to  the  respective 
inhabitants  of  both  nations. 

The  two  high  contracting  pa.lies  agree  to  cede  and  renounce  all  their 
rights,  claims,  and  pretensions,  to  the  territories  described  by  the  said 
line ;  that  is  to  say,  the  United  States  hereby  cede  to  his  Catholic  majesty, 
and  renounce  forever,  all  their  rights,  claims,  and  pretensions,  to  the  terri- 
tories lying  west  ond  south  of  the  above-described  line;  and,  in  like  man 
ner,  his  Catholic  majesty  cedes  to  the  said  United  States  all  his  rights, 
claims,  and  pretensions,  to  any  territories  east  and  north  of  the  said  line ; 
and  for  himself,  his  heirs,  and  successors,  renounces  all  claim  to  the  said 
territories  forever. 

■    '■-■"'       '        _         (4.) 

Convention  between  the  United  States  and  Russia,  signed  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, on  the  '^  of  April,  1824. 

Article  1.  It  is  agreed  that,  in  any  part  of  the  great  ocean,  commonly 
called  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  South  Sea,  the  respective  citizens  or  subjects 
of  the  high  contracting  powers  shall  be  neither  disturbed  nor  restrained, 
either  in  navigation  or  in  fishing,  or  in  the  power  of  resorting  to  the 
coasts,  upon  points  which  may  not  already  have  been  occupied,  for  the 
purpose  of  trading  with  the  natives :  saving  always  the  restrictions  and 
conditions  determined  by  the  following  articles. 


m 


m 


rROOrS    AND    ILLUSTR       lOHt. 


Art.  3.  With  the  view  of  preventing  the  rights  of  navigation  of 
fishing,  exercised  upon  the  great  ocean  by  the  citizens  and  subj  i^s  of 
the  high  contracting  powers,  from  becoming  the  pretext  for  t>  ilioit 
trade,  it  is  agreed  that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  shall  not  r<>*>>fi  <o 
any  point  where  there  is  a  Russian  establishment,  without  the  permission 
of  the  governor  or  commander ;  and  that,  reciprocally,  the  subjects  ,of 
Russia  shall  not  resort,  without  permission,  to  any  establishment  of  the 
United  States  upon  the  north-west  coast. 

Art.  3.  It  is,  moreover,  agreed  that  hereafter  there  shall  not  be 
formed  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  under  the  authority  of  the 
said  States,  any  establishment  upon  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  nor 
in  any  of  the  islands  adjacent,  to  the  north  of  54  degrees  and  40  minutes 
of  north  latitude ;  and  that,  in  the  same  manner,  there  shall  be  none 
formed  by  Russian  subjects,  or  under  the  authority  of  Russia,  south  of 
the  same  parallel. 

Art.  4.  It  is,  nevertheless,  understood  that,  during  a  term  of  ten 
years,  counting  from  the  signature  of  the  present  convention,  the  ships  of 
both  powers,  or  which  belong  to  their  citizens  or  subjects,  respectively, 
may  reciprocally  frequent,  without  any  hinderance  whatever,  the  interior 
seas,  gulfs,  harbors,  and  creeks,  upon  the  coast  mentioned  in  the  pre- 
ceding article,  for  the  purpose  of  fishing  and  trading  with  the  natives 
of  the  country. 

ARr.  5.  All  spirituous  liquors,  fire-arms,  other  arms,  powder,  and 
munitions  of  war  of  every  kind,  are  always  excepted  from  this  same  com- 
merce permitted  by  the  preceding  article;  and  the  two  powers  engage, 
reciprocally,  neither  to  sell,  nor  sufier  them  to  be  sold,  to  the  natives,  by 
their  respective  citizens  and  subjects,  nor  by  any  person  who  may  be 
under  their  authority.  It  is  likewise  stipulated,  that  this  restriction  shall 
niAver  afibrd  a  pretext,  nor  be  advanced,  in  any  case,  to  authorize  either 
search  or  detention  of  the  vessels,  seizure  of  the  merchandise,  or,  in  fine, 
any  measures  of  constraint  whatever,  towards  the  merchants  or  the  crews 
who  may  carry  on  this  commerce ;  the  high  contracting  powers  recipro- 
cally reserving  to  themselves  to  determine  upon  the  penalties  to  be 
incurred,  and  to  inflict  the  punishments  in  case  of  the  contravention  of 
this  article  by  their  respective  citizens  or  subjects. 


(5.) 

Convention  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia,  signed  at  St.  Peters- 
burg, February  ^|,  1825. 

Article  1.  It  is  agreed  that  the  respective  subjects  of  the  high  con- 
tracting parties  shall  not  be  troubled  or  molested  in  any  part  of  the  ocean 
commonly  called  the  Pacific  Ocean,  either  in  navigating  the  same,  in 
fishing  therein,  or  in  landing  at  such  parts  of  the  coast  as  shall  not  have 
been  already  occupied,  in  order  to  trade  with  the  natives,  under  the 
restrictions  and  conditions  specified  in  the  following  articles. 

Art.  2.  In  order  to  prevent  the  right  of  navigating  and  fishing,  exer- 
cised upon  the  ocean  by  the  subjects  of  the  high  contracting  parties,  from 
becoming  the  pretext  for  an  illicit  commerce,  it  is  agreed  that  the  subjects 


.*i_ 


460 


PMOOri    AMD   ILLCtTKATIONI. 


u 


of  his  Britinnio  majesty  shall  not  land  at  any  place  where  there  may  be  a 
Russian  establishmentt  without  the  permission  of  the  governor  or  com- 
mandant ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Russian  subjects  shall  not  land, 
without  nerrorjion,  at  any  British  establishment  on  the  nortli-west  coast. 

Aet.  3.  The  line  of  demarkation  between  the  possessions  of  the  high 
contracting  parties,  upon  the  coast  of  the  continent,  and  the  islands  of 
America  to  the  north*west,  shall  be  drawn  in  the  manner  following :  Com> 
menuing  from  the  southernmost  point  of  the  island  called  Prince  ofWales's 
Island,  which  point  lies  in  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes  north 
latitude,  and  between  the  131st  and  the  133d  degree  of  west  longitude, 
(meridian  of  Greenwich,)  the  said  line  shall  ascend  to  the  north  along 
the  channel  colled  Portland  Channel,  as  far  as  the  point  of  the  cnntinent 
where  it  strikes  the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude.  From  this  last^men- 
tioned  point,  the  line  of  demarkation  shall  follow  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tains situated  parallel  to  the  coast,  as  far  as  the  point  of  intersection  of  the 
141st  degree  of  west  longitude,  (of  the  same  meridian.)  And,  finally, 
from  the  said  point  of  intersection,  the  said  meridian  line  of  the  141st 
degree,  in  its  prolongation  as  far  as  the  Frozen  Ocean,  shall  form  the 
limit  between  the  Russian  and  British  possessions  on  the  continent  of 
America  to  the  north-west. 

Art.  4.  With  reference  to  the  line  of  demarkation  laid  down  in  the 
preceding  article,  it  is  understood  — 

1st.  That  the  island  called  Prince  of  Wales's  Island  shall  belong 
wholly  to  Russia. 

2d.  That  whenever  the  summit  of  the  mountains  which  extend  in  a 
direction  parallel  to  the  coast,  from  the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude  to 
the  point  of  intersection  of  the  141st  degree  of  west  longitude,  shall  prove 
to  be  at  the  distance  of  more  than  ten  marine  leagues  from  the  ocean,  the 
limit  between  the  British  possessions  and  the  line  of  coast  which  is  to 
belong  to  Russia,  as  above  mentioned,  shall  be  formed  by  a  line  parallel  to 
the  windings  of  the  coast,  and  which  shall  never  exceed  the  distance  of 
ten  marine  leagues  therefrom. 

Art.  5.  It  is,  moreover,  agreed  that  no  establishment  shall  be  formed 
by  either  of  the  two  parties  within  the  limits  assigned  by  the  two  preced- 
ing articles  to  the  possessions  of  the  other ;  consequently,  British  subjects 
shall  not  form  any  establishment  either  upon  the  coast,  or  upon  the  border 
of  the  continent  comprised  within  the  limits  of  the  Russian  possessions,  as 
designated  in  the  two  preceding  articles;  and,  in  like  manner,  no  estab- 
lishment shall  be  formed  by  Russian  subjects  beyond  the  said  limits. 

Art.  6.  It  is  understood  that  the  subjects  of  his  Britannic  majesty, 
from  whatever  quarter  they  may  arrive,  whether  from  the  ocean  or  from 
the  interior  of  the  continent,  shall  forever  enjoy  the  right  of  navigating 
freely,  and  without  any  hinderance  whatever,  all  the  rivers  and  streams 
which,  in  their  course  towards  the  Pacific  Ocean,  may  cross  the  line  of 
demarkation  upon  the  line  of  coast  described  in  article  3  of  the  present 
convention. 

Art.  7.  It  is  also  understood  that,  for  the  space  of  ten  years  from  the 
signature  of  the  present  convention,  the  vessels  of  the  two  powers,  or 
those  belonging  to  their  respective  subjects,  shall  mutually  be  at  liberty 
to  frequent,  without  any  hinderance  whatever,  all  the  inland  seas,  the 
gulfs,  havens,  and  creeks,  on  the  coast,  mentioned  in  article  3,  for  the 
purposes  of  fishing  and  of  trading  with  the  natives. 


K.) 


moors    AND    ILLUSTKATIOIff. 


481 


Art.  8.  The  port  of  Silkn,  ur  Novo  ArchangeUk,  shall  be  open  to  the 
commerce  and  vessels  of  UritJHh  subjects  for  the  space  of  ten  years  from 
the  date  of  the  exchange  of  the  ratifications  of  the  present  convention.  In 
the  event  of  an  extension  of  this  term  of  ten  years  being  granted  to  any 
other  power,  the  like  cxteiiMion  shall  be  granted  also  to  Great  Britain. 

Art.  0.  The  above-mentioned  liberty  of  commerce  shall  not  apply  to 
the  trade  in  spirituous  liquors,  in  firc-artns,  or  other  arms,  gunpowder,  or 
other  warlike  sturcH ;  the  high  contracting  parties  reciprocally  engaging 
not  to  permit  the  above-mentioned  articles  to  be  sold  or  delivered,  in  any 
manner  whatever,  to  tlie  natives  of  tlie  country. 

Art.  lU.  Every  British  or  llusHiun  vessel  navigating  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  which  may  be  compelled  by  storms  or  by  accident  to  take  shelter 
in  the  ports  of  the  respective  parties,  shall  be  at  liberty  to  refit  therein, 
to  provide  itself  with  all  nccessury  stores,  and  to  put  to  sea  again,  without 
paying  any  other  than  port  and  lighthouse  dues,  which  shall  be  the  same 
OS  those  paid  by  national  vessels.  In  case,  however,  the  master  of  such 
vessel  should  be  under  the  necessity  of  disposing  of  a  part  of  his  merchan- 
dise in  order  to  defray  his  expenses,  he  shall  conform  himself  to  the  regu- 
lations  and  tariffs  of  the  place  where  he  may  have  landed. 

Art.  11.  In  every  case  of  complaint  on  account  of  an  infraction  of 
the  articles  of  the  present  convention,  the  civil  and  military  authorities 
of  the  high  contracting  parties,  without  previously  acting,  or  taking  any 
forcible  measure,  shall  make  an  exact  and  circumstantial  report  of  the 
matter  to  their  respective  courts,  who  engage  to  settle  the  same  in  a 
friendly  manner,  and  according  to  the  principle§  of  justice. 


(6.) 


Convention  between  the   United  States  and  Great  Britain,  signed  at 

London,  August  Gth,  1827. 

Article  1.  All  the  provisions  of  the  third  article  of  the  convention 
concluded  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  his  majesty  the  king 
of  the  United  Kin(rdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  on  the  20th  of 
October,  1818,  shall  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  further  indefinitely  extended 
and  continued  in  force,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  all  the  provisions  of  the 
flaid  article  were  herein  specifically  recited. 

Art.  3.  It  shall  be  competent,  however,  to  either  of  the  contracting 
parties,  in  case  either  should  think  fit,  at  any  time  after  the  20th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1828,  on  giving  due  notice  of  twelve  months  to  the  other  contracting 
party,  to  annul  and  abrogate  this  convention ;  and  it  shall,  in  such  case, 
be  accordingly  entirely  annulled  and  abrogated,  after  the  expiration  of  the 
said  term  of  notice. 

Art.  3.  Nothing  contained  in  this  convention,  or  in  the  third  article 
of  the  convention  of  the  20th  October,  1818,  hereby  continued  in  force, 
shall  be  constrned  to  impair,  or  in  any  manner  affect,  the  claims  which 
either  of  the  contracting  parties  may  have  to  any  part  of  the  country  west- 
ward of  the  Stony  or  Rocky  Mountains. 

61 


» 


W' 


482 


PB00F8    AND    ILLUSTKATI0N8. 


[K. 


(7.) 

Tyeaty  betioeen  the  United  States  of  America  and  Her  Majesty  the 
Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Chreat  Britain  and  Ireland,  concluded 
at  Washington  on  the  \bth  of  June,  1846. 

Art.  1.  From  the  point  on  the  49th  parallel  of  North  latitude,  where 
the  boundary  laid  down  in  existing  treaties  and  conventions  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  terminates,  the  line  of  boundary  be- 
tween the  territories  of  her  Britannic  Majesty  and  those  of  the  United 
States  shall  be  continued  flTestward  along  the  49th  parallel  of  North  lati- 
tude to  the  middle  of  the  channel  which  separates  the  continent  from 
Vancouver's  Island,  and  thence' Southerly  through  the  middle  of  the  said 
channel,  and  of  Fuca  Straits,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  :  Provided,  however, 
that  the  navigation  of  the  said  channel  and  straits,  South  of  the  49th  pa- 
rallel of  North  latitude,  remain  free  and  open  to  both  parties. 

Art.  2.  From  the  point  at  which  the  49th  parallel  of  North  latitmde 
shall  be  found  to  intersect  the  great  Northern  branch  of  the  Columbia 
river,  the  navigation  of  the  said  branch  shall  be  free  and  open  to  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  and  to  all  British  subjects  trading  with  the  same,  to 
the  point  where  the  said  branch  meets  the  main  stream  of  the  Columbia, 
and  thence  down  the  said  main  stream  to  the  ocean,  with  free  access  into 
and  through  the  said  river  or  rivers ;  it  being  understood  that  all  the  usual 
portages  along  the  line  thus  described,  shall  in  like  manner  be  free  and 
open.    In  navigating  the  said  river  or  rivers,  British  subjects,  with  their 

goods  and  produce,  shall  be  treated  on  the  same  footing  as  citizens  of  the 
United  States ;  it  being,  however,  always  understood  that  nothing  in  this 
article  shall  be  construed  as  preventing  or  intended  to  prevent,  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  from  making  any  regulations  respecting  the 
navigation  of  the  said  river  or  rivers,  not  inconsistent  with  the  present  treaty. 

Art.  3.  In  the  future  appropriations  of  the  territory  south  of  the  49th 
parallel  of  north  latitude,  as  provided  in  the  first  article  of  this  treaty,  the 
possessory  rights  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  of  all  British  subjects 
who  may  be  already  in  the  occupation  of  land  or  other  property,  lawfully 
acquired  within  the  said  territory  shall  be  respected. 

Art.  4.  The  farms,  lands,  and  other  property  of  every  description,  be- 
longing to  the  Puget's  Sound  Agricultural  Company,  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Columbia  river,  shall  be  confirmed  to  the  said  Company.  In  case, 
however,  the  situation  of  those  farms  and  lands  should  be  considered  by 
the  United  States  to  be  of  public  and  political  importance,  and  the  United 
States  government  should  signify  a  desire  to  obtain  possession  of  the  whole 
or  of  any  part  thereof,  the  property  so  required  shall  be  transferred  to  the 
said  government  at  a  proper  valuation,  to  be  agreed  upon  between  the 
parties. 

Art.  5.  The  present  Treaty  shall  be  ratified  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate  thereof, 
and  by  her  Britannic  Majesty  ;  and  the  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged 
at  London  at  the  expiration  of  six  months  from  the  date  hereof,  or  sooner 
if  possible. 


M- 


'% 


0 


GENERAL    INDEX. 


GENERAL    INDEX 


Adams,  John  Q.,  United  States  minister  at 
St.  Petersburg,  correspondence  with  the 
Russian  government  respecting  American 
traders  on  tbe  north-west  coast,  275.  Sec- 
retary of  state  of  the  United  States ;  nego- 
tiations with  Spain  on  tbe  southern  and 
western  limits  of  the  United  States,  316. 
Correspondence  with  the  Russian  minister 
at  Washington  on  tbe  ukase  of  1821,  332. 
Instructions  to  Mr.  Rush,  United  States 
minister  at  London,  on  claims  of  the  United 
Slates,  in  1823,  340.  President  of  the 
United  States  ;  message  recommending  the 
adoption  of  measures  respecting  Oregon, 
344. 

Aguilar,  Martin  de,  voyage  and  supposed 
discovery  of  a  great  river  on  the  north-west 
coast,  91. 

Alarcon,  Hernantio,  voyage  up  the  Californian 
Gulf  and  the  Colorado  River,  58. 

Aleutian  Islands  described,  39.  Discovered, 
135. 

Aliaska  described,  36.    Discovered,  132. 

America.  This  name  first  given  to  Brazil  in 
1603.  Never  used  by  Spanish  government 
and  historians  until  recently,  46. 

Anian,  Strait  of,  said  to  have  been  discovered 
by  Cortereal,  probably  the  same  now  called 
Hudson's  Strait,  45.  Voyages  in  search 
of  it,  76.  See  Urdaneta,  L^rillero,  Mal- 
donado,  Fonts,  Vizcaino. 

Archer,  William  S.,  his  speech  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States  on  the  bill  for  the 
occupation  of  Oregon,  388. 

Arteaga,  Iznacio,  voyage,  125. 

Ashley,  William  H.,  conducts  tradii^  ex- 
peditions fron  St.  Louis  to  the  Rocky 
Mountain  regions,  357. 

Asiento  de  Negros,  or  treaty  by  which  the 
British  monopolized  the  slave  trade  of 
Spanish  America,  99,  321. 

Astoria  established,  296.  Described,  299  — 
313.  Ceded  to  North- West  Company,  303. 
Taken  by  British,  304.  Restored  to  the 
United  States,  309.  Burnt,  31 3.  iS'ee  Pacific 
Fur  Company. 

Atlantis,  Island,  placed  by  Bacon  oa  the 
north-west  coast,  94. 

Baranof,  Alexander,  governor  of  Russian 
America,  his  character,  27 1 .  Founds  Sitka, 
870.  His  mode  of  conducting  negotiations, 
302.    Seizes  part  of  California,  327.    At- 

62 


tempts  to  seize  one  of  the  Sandwich  Isltadi, 

328. 

Becerra,  Diego,  voyage  from  Mexico  by  order 
of  Cortes,  52. 

Benyowsky,  Augustus,  a  Polish  exile  in 
Kamtchatka,  performs  the  first  voyags 
from  that  country  to  Canton,  138. 

Bering,  Alexander,  first  voyage  from  Kam- 
tchatka to  the  Arctic  Sea,  129.  Second 
voyage,  129.  Third  and  last  voyage,  130. 
Reaches  the  American  continent,  131. 
Shipwreck  and  death,  133. 

Bering's  Strait  discovered,  129.    Described,  4. 

Berkeley,  Captain,  rediscovers  the  Strait  of 
Fuca ;  murder  of  part  of  his  crew  off 
Destruction  Island,  171. 

Billings,  Joseph,  engaged  by  the  empress  of 
Russia  to  explore  the  North  Pacific,  162. 
His  voyage  produces  no  valuable  results, 
221. 

Bodega  y  Quadra,  Juan  Francisco  de,  first 
voyage,  under  Heceta,  from  Mexico,  along 
the  north-west  coast,  117.  Importance  of 
his  discoveries,  123.  Second  voyage,  under 
Arteaga,  125.  (See  Maurelle.)  Commis- 
sioner  to  treat  with  Vancouver  at  Nootka, 
231.  (iS'ee  Nootka  Convention.)  Letter  to 
Captains  Gray  and  Ingraham,  242,  443. 
Death,  255. 

Brobdignag,  placed  by  Swift  on  the  north* 
west  coast,  near  Columbia  River,  94. 

Broughton,  William,  sent  by  Vancouver  to 
survey  the  lower  part  of  the  Colun:  bia  River, 
247.  Unfairness  to  the  Americans,  248. 
Sent  to  England,  249.  Commands  an  ex- 
ploring expedition  in  the  North  Pacific, 
256.    Finds  Nootka  Sound  deserted,  257. 

Buchanan,  James,  secretary  of  state  of  the 
United  States,  negotiations  with  Mr.  Pak- 
enham,  minister  of  Great  Britain  at  Wash- 
ington, 399, 400.  Concludes  treaty,  settling 
the  boundaries  west  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, 402. 

Bulfinch's  Harbor  described,  22.  Discovered 
by  Captain  Gray,  of  Boston^35.  Examined 
by  Vancouver's  lieutenant,  Whidbey,  246. 


Gaamano,  Jacinto,  voyage  in  the  North- West 

Archipelago,  241. 
Cabeza-Vaca,  Alvaro  Nunez,  journey  from 

Florida  to  the  Californian  Gulf,  55. 
Cabot,  John,  and  Sebastian,  voyages,  46. 
Cabrillo,  Juan  Rodriguez,  exploring  voyage 

from  Mexico,  and  death,  62. 
Calhoun,  John  C,  his  speech  in  the  Senate 


486 


OENEIUL    INDEX. 


of  the  United  States  on  the  bill  for  the 
occupation  of  Oregon,  383.  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States  negotiation  with 
Mr.  Pakenham,  Minister  of  Great  Britain. 
398. 

California,  origin  of  the  name  unknown^SS. 

California,  Peninsula  of,  described,  13.  Dis- 
covered ;  fruitless  attempts  of  the  Spaniards 
to  settle,  88, 9S.  Jesuits  engage  to  civilize 
the  inhabitants,  96.  Their  partial  success, 
97.  Their  Historjr  of  California,  93.  Ex- 
pulsion of  the  Jesuits,  106. 

California,  Coutinental,  or  New,  described, 
IS.  Discovered,  56.  Settled  by  the  Span- 
iards, 109.  Claimed  by  Mexico,  317.^  At- 
tempted insurrections  in,  367. 

California,  Gulf  of,  or  Vermillion  Sea,  or  Sea 
of  Cortes,  described,  12.  Discovered,  62. 
Examined  by  Ulloa,  56,  and  by  Alarcon,  58. 

Canada,  pretension  that  it  extended  to  the 
Pacific,  exposed,  169, 277. 

Carver,  Jonathan,  travels  in  the  central 
regions  of  North  America,  141 .  Pretended 
discovery  of  a  river  called  Oregon,  flowing 
into  the  Pacific,  142,  His  accounts  chiefly 
derived  from  old  French  travellers,  144. 

Cavendish,  Thomas,  voyage  around  the 
world ;  takes  and  bums  a  Spanish  ship  near 
the  coast  of  California,  76. 

Cermenon,  Sebastian,  wrecked  on  the  coast 
of  California,  66. 

Cibola^  a  country  or  city  north-west  of 
Mexico,  discovered  by  Friar  Marcos  de 
Niza,  69.  Supposed  position,  62.  Expedi- 
tion of  Vazquez  de  Coronado  to  conquer  it, 
61. 

Clarke.    See  Lewis  and  Clarke. 

Clarke  River  discovered,  387.    Descril)ed,  23. 

Colnett,  James,  engaged  by  Meares  to  com- 
mand the  Argonaut,  189.    Made  prisoner 

,  bv  the  Spaniards  at  Nootka,  and  sent  to 
Mexico,  195.  Liberated  by  order  of  the 
viceroy  of  Mexico,  200. 

Colorado  River  described,  20.  First  discov- 
ered by  Alarcon,  58. 

Columbia,  American  trading  ship^  fitted  out 
at  Boston,  179.  Sails  under  Kendrick  to 
the  North  Pacific,  180.  Puts  into  Juan 
Fernandez  in  distress,  181.  Reaches 
Nootka  Sound,  181.  Sails  for  Canton  and 
the  United  States,  under  Captain  Gray, 
900.  Second  voyage  under  Gray,  229. 
Winters  at  Clyoquot,  230.  Discovery  of 
the  Columbia  River,  235.  See  Gray  and 
Vancouver. 

Columbia  River,  (called,  also,  Oregon,)  de- 
scribed, 31.  Mouth  seen  by  the  Spanish 
commander  Hecata,  120,  430.  Meares 
seeks  for  it  in  vain,  and  denies  its  existence, 
177 ;  yet  the  Britian  plenipotentiaries  claim 
the  discovery  for  Meares,  178, 440.  Mouth 
wen  by  the  Americaa  Captain  Gray,  181. 
Gray  first  entera  the  river,  236.    Lower 

8irt  explored  by  the  British  Lieutenant 
roughton,  247,  who  unfairly  pretends  to 
have  discovered  it,  248.  Head-waters  dis- 
covered by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  who  trace  the 
river  thence  to  the  sea.  285. 
Congress  of  the  United  States;  Resolution 
for  abrogating  the  Couvention  with  Great 
Britain,  402, 


Convention  of  1790,  between  Great  Britain 
and  Spain,  see  Nootka  Convention.  Of 
1818,  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  concluded,  316,  477.  Renewed  in 
1827  for  an  indefinite  period,  354.  Reflec- 
tions on,  389.  Of  1 824,  between  the  United 
States  and  Russia,  concluded,  341,  478. 
Virtually  abrogated  by  Russia,  342. 

Cook,  James,  undertakes  a  voyage  of  discov- 
ery in  the  North  Pacific ;  his  instructions, 
147,  Discovers  the  Sandwich  Islands,  ISO. 
Reaches  Nootka  Sound,  151.  Passes 
through  Bering's  Straits,  166.  Killed  at  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  167.  Importance  of  his 
discoveries,  158.  Knew  no  particulars  of  the 
recent  Spanish  voyages,  149;  though  he 
knew  that  such  voyages  had  been  made, 
152. 

Coronado,  Francisco  Vazauez,  expedition 
from  Mexico,  to  conquer  the  rich  countries 
supposed  to  lie  farther  north-west,  69. 

Cortereal,  Gaspar,  discovers  Labrador ;  Strait 
of  Anian  said  to  have  been  found  by  him, 
leading  from  the  Atlantic  north-west  to  the 
Pacific,  45. 

Cortes,  Hernando,  conquers  Mexico,  and 
proposes  to  explore  the  coasts  of  that 
country,  48.  Expeditions  made  by  his 
order  on  the  Pacific, SI.  Leads  an  expedi- 
tion into  California,  53.  Superseded  in 
the  government  of  Mexico,  to  which  country 
be  returns,  64.  Claims  the  right  to  make 
conquests  in  America;  returns  to  Spain, 
and  dies,  68, 


Dixon,  George,  voyace  in  the  North  Pacific, 
169.    Dispute  with  Meares,  218. 

Douglas,  William,  master  of  the  Iphigenia ; 
voyage  under  Meares  to  the  North  Pacific, 
172.  Taken  prisoner  by  the  Spaniards  at 
Nootka,  191.  Released,  192. 
Drake,  Francis,  voyage  around  the  world, 
70.  Arrives  in  the  North  Pacific,  and 
lands  on  the  American  coast,  71,  Receives 
from  the  natives  the  crown  of  the  country, 
which  he  calls  New  Albion,  and  returns  to 
England,  72.  Review  of  accounts  of  his 
voyage  in  the  North  Pacific,  73.  Deception 
practised  by  his  biographer  Barrow,  75. 
Part  of  the  coast  probably  seen  by  him,  75. 

Duffin,  Robert,  mate  of  Meares's  vessel,  enters 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,  176.  Testimony  re- 
specting events  at  Nootka,  244. 


P 

Falkland  Islands,  dispute  between  Great 
Britain  and  Spain  respecting  them.  111. 
Lord  Palmerston's  letter  to  the  minister 
of  Buenos  Ayres  on  the  subject  of  their 
occupation  by  Great  Britain,  1 1 1  —  31 3, 374. 

Fidal^,  Salvador,  voyage  of,  220. 

Fleurieu,  Clairet  de,  bis  Introduction  to  the 
Journal  of  Marchand's  voyage,  223.  Ad- 
mits the  discovery  of  the  Washington  or 
North  Marquesas  Islands  by  Ingraham,  228. 

Florida,  the  name  applied  originally  by  the 


G 
G 


G 


GENERAL    IKDEX. 


49T 


Spaniards  to  the  whole  eastern  side  of 
America,  north  of  the  Mexican  Gulf,  63. 

-  Eipeditions  through  it  under  Nar.aez,  55, 
and  Soto,  63.  Ceded  to  the  United  Stales, 
316. 

Fonte,  Admiral,  supposed  voyage,  in  the 
North  Pacific,  by  a  person  so  named,  82. 

Forsyth,  John,  secretary  of  state  of  the 
United  States,  instructions  respecting  the 
meaning  of  the  convention  with  Russia, 
362.  Lndeavors  to  procure  information 
respecting  the  north-west  coai^t,  376. 

Fox,  Charles  J.,  his  speech  in  Parliament  on 
the  Nootka  convention,  212. 

Fremont,  John  C,  captain  in  the  army  of 
the  United  States  exploring  expedition  to 
Oregon  and  California,  386. 

Fuca,  Juan  de,  voyage  in  the  North  Pacific, 
and  supposed  discovery  of  a  new  passage 
leading  to  the  Atlantic,  85, 407. 

Fuca,  Strait  of.  described,  22.  Discovered 
by  Juan  de  Fuca,  85.  Search  for  it  by 
Heceta,  119.  By  Cook,  150.  Found  by 
Berkeley,  171.  Rediscovery  claimed  by 
Meares,  175.  Entered  by  Gray,  199,  234. 
Kendrick  passes  through  it,  200,  217. 
Surveyed  by  Vancouver,  and  Galiano,  and 
Valdes,233. 

Furs  and  fur  trade,  ^neral  account,  411. 
See  Russian  Amencan  Company,  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  and  North-West 
Company. 


G 


Gallatin,  Albert,  minister  plenipotentiary  of 
the  United  Slates  at  London  ;  negotiations 
at  London,  314,  344.  Counter  statement 
respecting  the  claims  of  the  United  States, 
presented  by  him  to  British  commissioners, 
347,  455. 

Gali,  Francisco,  his  voyage,  66. 

Oaliano  and  Valdes,  their  voyage  through 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,  240.    Journal  published 

'  by  the  Spanish  government ;  Introduction 
to  that  Journal  reviewed,  241. 

Gray,  Robert,  first  voyage  to  the  North 
Pacific,  in  command  of  the  trading  sloop 
Washington,  from  Boston,  180.  sees  an 
opening  supposed  to  be  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia  River,  IBl.  First  examines 
the  east  coast  of  Washington's  or  Queen 
Charlotte's  Island,  199.  Enters  the  Strait 
of  Fuca,  200.  Returns  to  Boston  in  the 
ship  Columbia,  200.  Second  voyage  to 
the  North  Pacific,  in  the  Columbia,  226, 
229.  Meets  Vancouver  near  the  entrance 
of  the  Strait  of  Fuca,  and  makes  known  his 
discovery  of  the  mouth  of  a  great  river,  233. 
Discovers  Bulfinch's  Harbor,  235.  Enters 
the  great  river,  which  he  names  the 
Columbia,  236.  Makes  known  his  dis- 
covery to  the  Spanish  commandant  at 
Nootka,  237.  Letter  of  Gray  and  In^raham 
to  the  Spanish  commandant,  respecting  the 
occurrences  at  Nootka  in  1789,  242,  413. 
Returns  to  the  United  States,  237. 

Great  Britain  obtains  Canada,  Florida,  and 
East  Louisiana,  by  the  treaty  of  Paris, 
108. 


R  '^: 

Harmon,  D.  W.,  important  eTidenc«  afibrdtd 
by  him  respecting  the  flrit  trading  jmita 
established  by  the  British  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  291, 

Hawaii.    See  Owyhee. 

Heame,  Samuel,  discoveries  in  the  tenitory 
west  of  Hudson's  Bay,  140.  Reaches  the 
Arctic  Sea,  at  the  mouth  of  Coppermine 
River,  146. 

Heceta,  Bruno,  voyage  along  the  north- 
west coast  of  America,  in  177S,  1 17.  Dis- 
covers a  river,  called  by  him  Itio  de  San 
Roque,  now  known  as  the  ColwtMa, 
120. 

Howel's  account  of  the  negotiation  at 
Nootka,  between  Vancouver  and  Quadra, 
245. 

Hudson,  Henry,  discovers  Hudson's  Bay,  94. 

Hudson's  Bay  Company  establithea  by 
charter,  98.  Eflforts  to  discover  a  north- 
west passage,  141.  Disputes  with  the 
North-West  Company,  260,  324.  Union 
of  these  two  companies,  326,  Rcceivea  a 
grant  of  exclusive  trade  in  the  Indian  terri- 
tories, 326.  General  view  of  its  system 
and  establishments,  397.  Papers  relating 
to  it,  466. 

Hudson's  Strait,  probably  the  same  called  by 
the  Portuguese  the  Strait  (tfArdant  46. 

Hunt,  Wilson  P.,  chief  agent  of  the  Paelflo 
Fur  Company,  295.    His  negotiations  with , 
Governor  Baranof  at  Sitka,  303. 


Ingham,  Joseph,  mate  of  the  ship  Columbia, 
in  her  first  voyage  from  Boston  to  the 
north-west  coast,  180.  Returns  to  the 
Pacific  as  master  of  the  brig  Hope,  and 
discovers  the  Washington  or  Nortn  Mar- 

?uesas  Islands,  226.  At  the  Sandwich 
stands,  227.  At  Queen  Charlotte's  Island, 
227.  At  Macao,  where  ho  meets  Marchand, 
and  communicates  his  discovery  of  the 
Washington  Islands,  the  priority  of  which 
is  admitted  by  Marchand  and  Pleurieu,998. 
At  Nootka,  where  he  writes  a  letter,  signed 
by  himself  and  Gray,  respecting  the  pro- 
ceedings at  that  place  in  1789,243.  Cfopy 
of  that  letter,  414.  Unfair  synopr'  of  it 
by  Vancouver,  244.  His  jouri:'.  331. 
His  death,  237. 


Jesuits  undertake  the  reduction  of  California, 
96.  Their  system  and  establisnments,  97. 
Their  History  of  Californiii,  98.  Expelled 
from  the  Spanish  dominions,  106.  Resulte 
of  their  labors  in  California,  107. 

Jesup,  Thomas  S.,  quartermaster-general 
of  the  United  States  s  report  on  the  best 
means  of  occupying  Orcpun,  336.  Effect 
of  that  report  on  the  negotiations  in  Europe, 
337. 

Jewitt,  J.  R.,  his  captivity  among  the  Indiana 
at  Nootka,  268. 


488 


GENERAL  INDEX. 


Kamtchatka  described,  37.  Conquered  by 
the  CosMcks,  128.  Its  position  on  the 
Pacific  ascertained,  129. 

Kendrick,  John,  commands  the  first  trading 
expedition  from  the  United  States  to  the 
North  Pacific,  179.  Arrives  at  Nootka, 
181.  Sailsin  the  sloop  Washington  through 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,200,217.  The  first  who 
engaged  in  the  trnnsporlation  of  sandal- 
woodfrom  the  Sandwich  Islands  to  Canton, 
228.  His  purchases  of  lands  from  the 
Indians  at  Nootka;  accidentally  killed, 
S39. 

Kodiak  Island,  35.  Settlement  on  it  by  the 
Russians,  161. 

Krenitzin  and  Levaschef,  voyage  of,  137. 

Krusenstern,  A.  J.  von,  commands  a  Rus- 
sian exploring  expedition  to  the  Pacific, 
S72.  His  great  merit  as  a  navigator ;  his 
journal  of  the  expedition ;  efficient  in  the 
reform  of  abuses  in  Russian  America, 
874. 


Ladrillero,  Juan,  an  old  Spanish  pilot, 
who  pretended  to  have  made  a  northern 
voyage  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific, 
78. 

Ledyard,  John,  corporal  of  marines  in  Cook's 
expedition,  149.  Escapes  from  a  British 
ship,  oflf  the  coast  of  Connecticut,  1 62.  En- 
deavors to  obtain  means  to  engage  in  the 
fur  trade;  attempts  to  go  by  land  from 
Paris  to  Kamtchatka;  arrested  at  Irkutsk, 
and  forced  to  return ;  attempts  to  discover 
the  source  of  the  Nile,  and  dies  at  Cairo, 
163. 

Lewis,  Meriwether,  and  John  Clarke,  com- 
missioned by  President  Jefferson  to  explore 
Missouri  and  Columbia  countries,  284. 
Voyage  up  the  Missouri  to  its  sources; 
passage  through  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
285.  Descena  the  Columbia  to  the 
Pacific  ;  winter  at  the  mouth  of  the  Co- 
lumbia, 286.  Return  to  the  United  States, 
287.  General  results  of  their  expedition ; 
their  Journal  written  by  Lewis;  melan- 
choly death  of  Lewis,  288. 

Lewis,  or  Snake,  or  Sahaptin  River,  principal 
southern  branch  of  tne  Columbia,  dis- 
covered by  Lewis  and  Clarke,  287.  De- 
scribed, 24. 

Linn,  Lewis  F.,  his  bill  and  speeches  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  on  the  occupa- 
tion of  Oregon,  379,  382. 

Louisiana,  settled  by  the  French;  granted 
by  Louis  XIV.  to  Crozat,  100 ;  and  after- 
wards to  Law,  102.  Ceded  by  France  to 
Spain,  102.  Retroceded  by  Spain  to  France, 
and  sold  by  France  to  the  United  States, 
278.     Its  extent  at  different  times,  107, 277, 

"  282.  Comprehended  no  territory  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  232.  Northern  boundary 
not  determined  by  commissaries  agreeably 

:  to  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  as  generally  sup- 
posed, 281,  436. 


M 

MacDougal,  Duncan,  partner  in  the  Pacific 
Company,  294.  Sells  the  establishments 
to  the  North-West  Company,  303.  See 
Astoria. 

MacKenzie,  Alexander,  explores  the  north- 
western parts  of  America ;  reaches  the 
Arctic  Sea,  263.  Reaches  the  Pacific, 
264.  MacKenzie  River  discovered  by 
MacKenzie,  263. 

Magellan,  Fernando,  sails  from  the  Atlantic 
through  Magellan's  Strait  into  the  Pacific, 
and  across  the  latter  ocean  to  India,  46. 

Malaspina,  Alexandro,  explores  the  coasts 
near  Mount  St.  Elias,  in  search  of  a 
passage  supposed  to  communicate  with 
the  Atlantic ;  arrested  and  imprisoned 
on  his  return  to  Spain  ;  his  name  not 
mentioned  in  the  account  of  his  voyage 
officially  published  at  Madrid,  222. 

Maldonado,  Lorenzo  Ferrer  de,  account  of 
his  pretended  voyage  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific,  78. 

Maldonado,  Pedro  Nunez  de,  makes  the 
first  voyage  along  the  west  coast  of  Mexico, 
by  order  of  Cortes,  49. 

Maquinna,  chief  of  Nootka,  167.  Grants 
land  to  Meares  for  his  tempo-ary  use, 
174.  Denies  that  the  British  had  nought 
lands  or  erected  buildings  at  Nootka,  242. 
Takes  the  ship  Boston,  of  Boston,  and 
murders  nearly  all  her  crew,  263. 

Marchand,  Etienne,  commands  the  ship 
Solide,  from  Marseilles,  in  her  voyage 
around  the  world,  223.  Sees  the  islands 
which  had  been  previously  discov  red  by 
Ingraham,  of  which  he  sent  an  acconnt  to 
France,  claiming  the  discovery.  Ingra- 
ham's  claim  admitted  by  Fleurieu,  the 
editor  of  Marchand's  Journal ;  Journal  of 
Marchand's  voyage,  edited  by  Fleurieu  ; 

fcneral  character  of  the  work,  223.  See 
'leurieu. 

Marcos  de  Niza,  a  Franciscan  friar,  pretends 
to  have  discovered  a  rich  and  populous 
country,  called  Cibola,  north-west  of 
Mexico,  59. 

Martinez,  Estcvan,  pilot  to  Perez,  in  the 
Santiago ;  pretends  to  have  rediscovered 
the  Strait  of  Fuca,  116.  Commands  in  a 
voyage  of  observation  to  the  coasts  occu- 
pied by  the  Russians,  185.  Ordered  by 
the  viceroy  of  Mexico  to  occupy  Nootka 
Sound,  187.  Arrives  at  Nootka,  191. 
Seizes  the  Iphigenia,  but  afterwards  re- 
leases her,  1C2.  Seizes  the  North-West 
America,  194.  Seizes  the  Argonaut,  and 
imprisons  her  captain,  l!i5.  Seizes  the 
Princess  Royal,  198.  Reflections  on  these 
acts,  197.    Returns  to  Mexico,  198. 

Maurelle,  Antonio,  pilot,  under  Bodega,  in 
his  voyages  along  the  nnrth-west  coasts, 
1 17  —  125.  His  Journal  of  the  first  of  these 
voyages,  translated  and  printed  at  London, 
117.  Importance  of  this  work,  123.  FIis 
Journal  of  the  other  voyage,  125. 

Meares,  John,  his  first  voyage  to  the  north- 
west coast,  166.  His  second  voyage,  under 
the  Portuguese  flag,  with  the  Felice  and 
Iphigenia,  172.    Instructed  to  take  any 


A 


M 
M 


M 


Ni 


N< 


GENKRiUU    INDEX. 


499 


vessels  which  may  attempt  to  molest  him, 
but  not  instructed  to  form  any  establishment 
or  purchase  lauds,  173.  Reasons  for  his 
saihng  under  the  Portuguese  flag,  174. 
Arrives  in  the  Felice  at  Nootka,  where  he 
obtains  from  Maquinna  the  use  of  a  piece 
of  ground,  afterwards  claimed  by  him  as 
purchased,  174.  Receives  from  Berkeley  an 
account  of  tho  rediscovery  of  the  Strait  of 
Fuca,  by  the  latter,  171.  Yet  claims  the 
merit  of  the  rediscovery  himself,  175. 
Seeks  in  vain  for  the  great  River  San 
Koque,  (the  Columbia,)  as  laid  down  on 
Spanish  charts,  176.  Declares  that  no  such 
river  exists,  177.  Yet  the  British  govem- 
meiit  claims  the  discovery  of  the  Columtiia 
for  him,  178,  440.  His  account  of  the 
arrival  of  th'  sloop  Washington  at  Nootka, 
181.  Returns  to  China,  180.  Sent  to  Lon- 
don, to  complain  of  the  seizure  of  the  vessels 
at  Nootka,  by  the  Spaniards,  202.  His 
memorial  to  the  British  government,  2U3. 
Its  numerous  falsehoods  and  inconsistencies, 
172-,  175,  178,  193,211. 

Mendocino,  Cape,  19.    Discovered,  63. 

Mendoza,  Antonio  de,  sent  as  viceroy  to 
supersede  Cortes  in  the  government  of 
Mexico,  54.  Attempts  to  discover  new 
countries  in  America,  55. 

Mendoza,  Diego  Hurtado,  commands  the 
ships  sent  by~Cortes  to  explore  the  Pacific 
coasts  of  America,  51. 

Metcalf,  voyage  of,  fires  on  the  natives  at 
Mowee,  224.  Young  Metcalf  and  his  crew 
murdered  by  the  natives  of  Owyhee,  225. 

Missionaries,  American,  in  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  370. 

Moncachtabe,  an  Indian,  his  account  of  a 
great  river,  flowing  from  the  central  parts 
of  North  America  to  the  Pacific,  145. 

Monroe,  James,  secretary  of  state  of  the 
United  States,  declares  to  the  British 
minister  the  intention  of  his  government 
to  secure  the  possession  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Columbia,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  of 
Ghent,  307.  President  oi  the  United  States ; 
his  message,  declaring  the  American  con- 
tinents not  subject  to  colonization  by 
European  nations,  335. 

Monterey  discovered  by  Cabrillo,  and  so 
named  by  Vizcaino^  90.  Colony  established 
there  by  the  Spaniards,  109.  Taken  by  a 
Buenos  Ayrean  privateer,  365.  Taken  by 
an  American  squadron,  under  Captain 
Jones,  367. 


N 

Navarrete,  Martin  P.  de,  chief  of  the  Hydro- 
graphical  Department  at  Madrid;  his  labors 
witn  regard  to  the  history  of  early  voyages 
of  discovery  in  America,  62. 

Nootka  Sound,  described,  29.  Discovered 
by  the  Spaniards  under  Perez,  and  called 
Port  San  Lorenzo,  113.  Cook  enters  it 
with  his  ships,  and  calls  it  King  George's 
Sound,  153.  The  principal  rendezvous  of 
the  fur  trader  for  some  lime,  167.  Pro- 
ceedings of  Meares  at  Nootka,  174.  The 
Spaniards   determine   to  occupy   it,  187. 


Proceedings  of  the  Spaniards  under  Mar- 
tinez, 191.  Claims  of  the  British  to  the 
possession  of  the  country  examined,  342, 
266.  The  Spaniards  abandon  it,  257. 
Capture  of  the  ship  Boston  by  the  natives, 
and  murder  of  her  crew,  268. 

Nootka  treaty,  or  convention  of  1790,  between 
Great  Britain  and  Spain,  477.  .  Discussions 
which  led  to  it,  202  —  209.  {See  Meares.) 
Review  of  its  stipulations,  2 13, 319.  Expired 
in  1796,  259,  318.  Not  to  be  regarded  as  a 
definitive  settlement  of  principles,  340. 
Its  continual  subsistence  asserted  by  Great 
Britain,  349. 

North- West  Fur  Trading  Company  of 
Montreal  founded ;  its  system,  262.    First 

Snsts  established  by  it  west  of  the  Rocky 
i3untains,  291.  Purchases  the  establish- 
ments of  the  Pacific  Company,  304.  Dis- 
putes with  the  Hudson's  Biiy  Company 
323.   Union  of  the  two  companies,  325. 


Oregon  City  at  the  Falls  of  the  Willamet,  33. 

Oregon,  river,  so  called  by  Carver,  supposed 
to  flow  from  the  central  parts  of  North 
America  to  the  Pacific,  142.  (See  Carver, 
and  Columbia  river.) 

Oregon  territory,  the  name  applied  to  the 
country  drained  by  the  Cohimbia,  359. 
Description  of  Oregon,  2 1 .  Treaty  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  settling 
its  northern  boundary,  402,  432. 

Ossinobia,  name  given  by  Lord  Selkirk  to 
the  country  purchased  by  him  on  the  Red 
River,  324. 

Owyhee,  or  Hawaii,  the  largest  of  the  Sand- 
wich Islands,  discovered  by  Cook,  167. 
Pretended  cession  to  Great  Britain,  251. 


Pakenham,  the  Right  Honorable  Richard, 
minister  of  Great  Britain  at  Washington, 
386  ;  negotiation  with  Mr.  Buchanan,  sec- 
retary of  state  of  the  United  States,  399, 
400.    Concludes  Oregon  treaty,  402. 

Parliament,  act  of  the  British,  respcting  the 
Hudson's  Bay  territories,  and  Oregon,  325, 
457. 

Pearce,  Lieutenant  of  British  marines,  his 
letter  respecting  the  surrender  of  Nootka, 
257. 

Perez,  Juan,  voyage  from  Mexico  along  the 
north-west  coast  to  the  54th  degree  of  lati- 
tude, 114.  Discovers  Nootka  Sound,  called 
by  him  Port  San  Lorenzo,  116,  153. 

Perouse,  Francois  G.  de  la,  voyage  along  a 
part  of  the  north-west  coast,  163. 

Philippine  Islands  conquered  by  the  Span- 
iards, 65. 

Poletica,  Chevalier  de,  Russian  minister  in 
the  United  States ;  correspondence  with 
the  American  government  respecting  the 
ukase  of  1821,  332. 

Prumuschleniks,  general  namrf  for  the  Rus- 
sians employed  in  the  service  of  the  Russian 
American  Trading  Company,  270. 


490 


OINBRAL  INDEX. 


Quadra  and  VancouTer's  Island,  39, 240. 

Quadra.    See  Bodepi. 

Queen  Charlotte's  or  Washington's  Island, 
discovered  by  Perez,  115.  Not  seen  by 
Cook,  163,  170.  Seen  by  La  Perouse,  164  ; 
and  by  Dixon,  who  gave  it  its  present  name, 
164.  Its  west  coast  first  explored  by  Gray, 
who  names  it  Washin^on's  Island,  199. 
Described,  29. 


R 

Red  river  Settlements,  made  by  Lord  Selkirk, 
324. 

Rocky  Mountains  described,  5.  First  called 
the  Shining  Mountains,  or  Mountains  of 
Bright  Stones,  143,  262. 

Rush,  Richard,  minister  plenipotentiary  of 
the  United  States  at  London;  discussion 
with  Lord  Castlcreagh  respecting  the 
restoration  of  Astoria,  308.  His  first 
negotiation  respecting  the  claims  of  the 
United  States,  314.  Concludes  a  conven- 
tion on  the  subject  in  1818, 315.  His  second 
negotiation  on  the  subject,  336.  Talent 
and  industry  displayed  by  him,  340. 

Russia,  government  proposes  an  arrangement 
with  the  United  States  respecting  the 
trade  of  American  vessels  in  the  North 
Pacific,  275.  Forbids  foreign  vessels  from 
trading  in  the  North  Pacific,  332.  {See 
Ukase.)  Convention  with  the  United 
States,  342.  Treaty  with  Great  Britain, 
343.  Convention  with  the  United  States 
virtually  abrogated  by  that  treaty,  343. 
Refuses  to  renew  the  fourth  article  of  the 
convention  with  the  United  States,  362. 

Russian  American  Company  established  by 
charter,  269.  Its  territories,  34 .  Its  system, 
270.  Abuses  in  the  administration  of  its 
possessions,  271.  Many  abus<?s  removed, 
274.  Renewal  of  its  charter ;  great  im- 
provement in  its  system.  364.  Leases  a 
part  of  its  territories  to  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  364. 

Russians  con(^uer  Northern  Asia,  127.  Their 
discoveries  m  the  North  Pacific,  131,  etaeq. 


Sacramento  river,  18. 

San  Diego,  17.  Discovered  by  Vizcaino,  90. 
The  first  Spanish  colony  on  the  west  coast 
of  California  planted  there,  109. 

San  Francisco  Bay,  1 7.  The  northernmost 
spot  on  the  west  coast  of  America  occupied 
by  the  Spaniards  previous  to  May,  1789, 
248. 

San  Lucas,  Cape,  the  southern  extremity  of 
California,  15.    Discovered  by  Ulloa,  56. 

San  Roque  river,  so  called  by  tne  Spaniards, 
the  same  now  called  the  Columbia,  dis- 
covered, 120,  430.     {Sec  Heceta.) 

Sandwich  Inlands  described,  37.  Discovered 
by  Cook,  157.  Frequented  by  the  Fur 
"Traders,  168.  Capture  of  the  schooner 
Fair  American  by  the  natives,  225.    Pre- 


tended cession  of  Owyhee  to  Great  Britain 
byTamahamaha,2Sl.  Tamahamaha  sover- 
eign of  the  whole  group,  268.  Death  of 
Tamahamaha, 329.  Christianity  introduced 
into  the  islands,  330.  Proceedings  of  the 
American  missioiiaricfi ;  language  of  the 
islands,  330.  Expulsion  of  the  Catholic 
missionaries,  and  their  reinstatement,  371. 
The  British  occupy  the  islands  temporarily, 

373.  Diminution  of  the  native  population, 

374.  See  Cook,  Tamahamaha,  Metcall, 
Vancouver,  Ingraham. 

Santa  Barbara  Islands,  17.  Discovered  by 
Cabrillo,  62. 

Schelikof,  Gregory,  establishes  Russian  colo- 
nies on  the  coasts  and  islands  of  America, 
161.  The  founder  of  the  Russian  American 
Company,  269. 

Sitka,  or  New  Archangel,  capital  of  Russian 
America,  35.    Founded  by  Baranof,  270. 

Snake  river.    See  Lewis  river. 

South  Pass  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  6.  Dis- 
covered by  Ashley,  357. 

Sutil  and  Mexicana,  voyage  of,  239,  241.  See 
Galiano  and  Valdes. 


Tamahamaha,  a  chief  of  note  in  Owyhee. 
168.  King  of  Owyhee,  249.  Pretendetl 
cession  of^the  sovereignty  of  his  island  to 
the  British,  251.  Acquires  the  dominion 
over  all  the  islands,  268.  His  acuteness  in 
trade,  269,  296.  His  death  and  character, 
329. 

Tchirikof,  Alexei,  voyages  of,  129,  130,  133. 
Texas  annexed  to  the  United  States,  396. 
See  Bering. 

Treaties,  all,  abrogated  by  war  between  the 
parties,  259.  This  principle  maintained  by 
Great  Britain,  318. 

Treaty  of  partition  between  Spain  and  Portu- 
gal in  1494,  44.  Of  Saragossa,  between 
the  same  powers,  in  1529,47.  The  American 
treaty  between  Spain  and  England,  in 
1670,  99.  102.  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  between 
Great  Britain  and  France,  in  1713,  99,  140. 
No  line  of  boundary  between  the  possessions 
of  those  powers  settled  by  that  treaty,  140, 
281,  436.  Family  Compact,  in  1762.  be- 
tween France  and  Spain,  102  ;  dissolved, 
207.  Treaty  of  Poris,  in  1763,  between 
England,  (ranee,  Spain,  and  Portugal, 
102,  278.  Nootka  treaty,  of  1790,  between 
Great  Britain  and  Spain.  209,258,  318,  476. 
Treaty  of  1800,  by  which  Spain  ceded 
Louisiana  to  France,  276,  279.  Treaty  of 
1803,  by  which  France  ceded  Louisiana  to 
the  United  States,  276,  279.  Treaty  of 
Ghent,  in  1814,  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  306.  Florida  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Spain,  in 
1819,  316,  478.  Treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  Russia,  in  1825,  342,  479. 
Treaty  between  the  United  States  arid 
Great  Britain,  settling  boundaries  east  of 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  377.  Oregon  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Bri- 
tain, settling  boundaries  west  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  402,  482.    See  Conventions. 


/ 


I 
I 

V 
V 


u 


u 


QENEBAL    INDEX. 


491 


Tylor,  John,  president  of  the  United  States ; 
message  respecting  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
372.   Messages  respecting  Oregon,  ars. 


U 


Ukase  of  the  Russian  government,  prohibiting 
vessels  of  other  nations  from  frequenting 
the  North  Pacific  coasts,  322.  Corres- 
pondence respecting  it,  between  the  secre- 
tary of  state  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Russian  plenipotentiarv,  at  Washington, 
333.  Protest  of  the  British  government 
against  it,  336. 

UUoa,  Francisco,  voyage  through  the  Gulf  of 
California  and  along  the  west  coast,  66. 

Ulloa,  Antonio,  secret  information  afforded 
by  him  to  the  Spanish  government,  respect- 
ing the  state  of  the  Spanish  provinces  in 
South  America,  in  1740,  106. 

Unalashka  Island,  36.  Visited  by  Cook,  166, 
who  there  first  meets  with  Russians,  166, 

United  States,  first  voyages  of  their  citizens 
to  the  Pacific  and  to  China,  179.  First 
voyages  to  the  north-west  coast  of  America, 
180.  Obtain  possession  of  Louisiana,  276. 
War  with  Great  Britain,  301.  Ended  by 
treaty  of  Ghent,  306.  Their  citizens  alone 
can  occupy  Oregon,  403. 

Urdaneta,  Andres  de,  discovers  the  mode  of 
crossing  the  Pacific  from  west  to  east.  6S. 
Supposed  to  have  discovered  a  northern 
passage  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific, 
77. 

Utah  Salt  Lake,  20. 


Vancouver,  George,  sails  from  England  on  an 
exploring  voyage  to  the  Pacinc,  and  as 
commissioner  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain 
to  receive  the  lands  and  buildings  to  be 
restored  by  Spain,  agreeably  to  the  Nootka 
convention,  217.  Reaches  the  north-west 
coast  of  America,  232.  Declares  that  no  river 
or  harbor  of  consequence  is  to  be  found  be- 
tween the  40th  ancl  the  48th  degree  of  lati- 
tude, 233.  Meets  Gray,  and  receives  from 
him  an  account  of  the  discovery  of  a  great 
river,232,  which  he  disbelieves,  233.  Enters 
the  Strait  of  Fucr. ;  explores  Admiralty  Inlet, 
and  takes  possession  cf  the  whole  surround- 
ing territory,  23d.  Remarks  on  this  act ; 
meets  Galiano  and  Valdes,  and  continues 
the  survey  of  the  strait,  239.  Passes 
through  the  strait,  and  arrives  at  Nootka, 
240.  Claims  the  discovery  of  the  Wash- 
ington or  North  Marquesas  Islands  for 
Hergest,  though  he  knew  them  to  have 
been  first  seen  by  the   Americans,  242. 


Negotiations  (with  the  Spanish  commii- 
aioner  Quadra,  342.  CUimi  the  whole 
territory  around  Nootka  for  Great  Britain, 
243.  His  unfair  synopsis  of  the  letter  of 
Gray  and  Ingraham,  344,  417.  Receives 
accounts  and  charts  of  Gray's  discoveries 
from  Quadra ;  sends  Broughton  to  examine 
Columbia  River.  247.  Unworthy  attempt 
to  take  to  himself  the  merit  of  discovering 
the  Columbia,  248.  At  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  executes  persons  falsely  charged 
with  the  murder  of  his  officers,  249.  Ex- 
amines a  large  portion  of  the  north-west 
coasts^nd  returns  to  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
250.  Pretended  cession  of  Owyhee  to  him 
for  his  sovereign,  251 .  Circumstances  con- 
nected with  that  affair,  252.  Returns  to 
the  north-west  coast,  of  which  he  completes 
the  survey,  254.  Names  given  by  him  to 
places,  266.  Returns  to  England)  his 
death ;  great  value  of  his  journal ;  his 
hatred  of  Americans,  and  constant  injustice 
towards  them,  256. 
Vizcaino,  Sebastian,  exploring  voyage  along 
the  north-west  coast,  91.  Desires  to  found 
colonies  on  those  coasts,  but  dies  before  hia 
plans  could  be  executed,  92. 


W 


Washington's  Island,  so  called  by  Gray,  who 
first  explored  its  east  coast,  199.  See 
Queen  Charlotte's  Island. 

Washington  or  North  Marquesas  Islands, 
discovered  by  Ingraham,  226.  Discovery 
claimed  by  Marchand,  who,  however, 
admits  the  priority  of  Ingraham's  claim, 
228.  Discovery  claimed  by  Vancouver  for 
Hergest,  242.  Occupied  by  the  French, 
374 .  Medal  granted  by  the  King:  of  France 
to  the  crew  of  Marchand's  ship  for  dU- 
covering  the  island,  228. 

Webster,  Daniel,  secretary  of  state  of  the 
United  States,  concludes  a  treaty  with  Lord 
Ashburton,  settling  the  boundaries  east  of 
the  Lake  of  the  Woods.  378. 

Whidbey  surveys  Bulfincn's  Harbor,  246. 

Wiccanish,  king  of  Nittinat,  167. 

Wilkes,  Charles,  his  voyage  of  exploration 
in  the  Pacific,  375. 

\^illamet,  river  and  valley,  26.  First  settle- 
ments of  citizens  of  the  United  States 
there,  361. 

Wrangel,  Admiral  Von,  Governor  of  Russian 
America,  prevents  the  British  from  occupy- 
ing the  mouth  of  the  Stikine  river,  363. 
His  work  on  Russian  America,  329.  His 
explanation  of  the  north  coast  of  Asia,  328. 

Wyeth,  Nathaniel,  endeavors  to  establish 
trading  posts  on  the  Columbia,  359.  Great 
value  oi^his  accounts  of  Oregon,  360. 


